Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994, Kingston) is an English national football player of Jamaican origin who plays on the left wing. He plays for Chelsea, one of the Premier League teams.
Raheem was born on December 8, 1994, in Jamaica. He moved to London with his mother when he was five years old. Raheem's father chose to stay in Jamaica. When Raheem was two years old, his father was killed in Jamaica.
'My father was killed when I was only 2 years old'
Sterling explains:
My father was killed when I was only two years old. This was an event that shaped my whole life. After this death, my mother decided to leave me and my sister in Jamaica with my grandmother to attend a diploma program in England to offer us a better life. At that age, I could not understand why my mother left, all I knew was that she was gone. My grandmother was an amazing woman, but at that age, everyone wants their mother.
After his father's death, Raheem was able to transform his anger and frustration into positive energy and channeled it into improving his football skills.
"WE WISH THERE WAS FOOTBALL IN THOSE MOMENTS"
Sterling explains:
Fortunately, there was football during this period. I had the most enjoyable times of my life when it rained, running outside with my friends and playing football in the mud and ponds. When I think of my life in Jamaica, these memories always come to mind. Nobody would stay at home when it rained, everybody would go out and enjoy. The other thing I remember from when I lived here was that I begged my grandmother for money to buy ice cream.
''WE MOVED TO LONDON AT THE AGE OF 5''
I wasn't aware of it at the time, but while we were enjoying life in Jamaica, my mother was working day and night in England to provide us with a good life. When I was 5 years old, we moved to London with my mother. It was a difficult time for me, I came to a very different culture and we had very little money. My mother always provided us with what we needed, but other than that we didn't have much. My mother was making extra money by working as a cleaner in hotels just to pay for her diploma program. I remember when I got up at 5 a.m. on school days to help him clean the hotel room toilets. My sister and I used to argue all the time about who was going to clean the toilet.
"ALL I CARE ABOUT WAS TO BE RONALDINHO"
The only good thing about doing this was that my mom got us the chocolate we wanted after helping her. As a Jamaican, I always got the Bounty. My family was very close to each other, we had to be. In this life, we only had each other. I always wanted to go out and play, my mother would let me go out because I was a very active child, but she would advise me not to stay away from home. Being a very active child when I was a child made me a naughty child. I was probably driving my mom crazy at the time. I wasn't doing anything bad, I just didn't want to sit down and listen to anything, especially at school. I didn't care what was taught, all I cared about was running outside in the mud and feeling like I was Ronaldinho. At that time I was so naughty that I managed to get expelled from primary school.
'I DON'T LIKE ANYONE EXCEPT MY MOM'
They didn't actually kick me out, they just told my mom that I should be sent to a school where more attention would be given to me. As a result of this, I started going to a school with 6 students and 3 teachers per class in the school where I was newly enrolled. The worst part of this school was that there was a bus every day that picked us up from school and dropped us back home. One day, on the school bus, I saw a group of students walking to school outside. These students were walking to school alone, chatting and joking with each other. I was very fond of them, I wanted to be like them. I was okay too, I was just a quiet kid. My only problem was that I didn't like to listen to anyone but my mother.
'I HAVE DECIDED TO BE A NICE CHILD'
For this reason, I decided to be a very good and strict child in my new school. A year later, I was transferred back to a regular big school. At that time in my life, I met a man named Clive Ellington and this man changed my life. This man took care of children who did not have a father in our neighborhood. It took us to places in London we had never seen at the weekend and allowed us to get to know different lives and cultures. Thanks to these small trips, we had the opportunity to see things that we have never seen in our daily lives. He really loved and cared about us. One day he sat with me and asked me, “Raheem, what do you like to do most in this life?” he had asked. It's such a simple question, but I've never thought about it. But my answer was clear, “My favorite thing is to play football.” I said. He said to me, “I have a one-weekend league team. Would you like to join this team and play with us? had made an offer.
"MOM DID NOT WANT ME TO GO TO ARSENAL"
This offer was the moment that changed my life. From that day on, everything in my life was football. I was obsessed with football. When I was just 10-11 years old, London's big teams were after me. Fulham and Arsenal wanted me. Arsenal was the biggest club in London, I made up my mind that I would go there as soon as I heard he wanted me. I told all my friends, "I'm going to Arsenal". My mother came to me and said, “Son, I love you very much, but I think it would be better for you not to go to Arsenal. If you go there, there will be 50 players as good as you, you are just a number there. “You have to go to a place where you can shine and rise more.”
'MOM CONVINCED ME TO GO TO QPR'
After that talk, she convinced me to go to QPR, and I still consider it the best decision I've ever made in my life. It was a bit difficult for my family because my mother would not allow me to go alone to Heathrow, where the training facilities are, and therefore my sister had to go this route with me. To get there, I took three buses: number 18, then 182, and finally 140. Every day, we would leave the house at 3.15 and come home at 11 pm. My sister would wait for me until my workout was over, and I never saw her complain while doing it. Imagine you are 17 years old and you do this every day for someone.
''If it weren't for my mom and my sister...''
At the time, I didn't realize how much of a sacrifice this was for me. My sister and mother played a big role in getting me this far. Had it been for them I would not have seen these days. The funny thing is, the new Wembley Stadium, which was being built at the time, was right next to my house. I always played football on a green field by Wembley Stadium, and every time I scored there, I was still under the famous arc of Wembley Stadium. I would look at that stadium and play here, I would think every day that I could achieve this.
"THE TEACHER, WHO MADE ME AGAIN, WAS MY BEST FRIEND"
When I was 14, I had a teacher who got mad at me in a lecture and said, "Raheem, what's wrong with you? Do you think all you do in life is play football? Do you know how many millions of children in the world want to be football players? What makes you special?" he said. What he said was very stuck in my head, I thought "you'll see it soon". Two months later, I was called up to England's U16 team and scored twice against Northern Ireland. This match was televised, it was a very important moment for me. I went back to school one Monday and suddenly this teacher become my best friend. That's how interesting life is.
'' AT 15 YEARS OLD LIVERPOOL WANTED ME''
The major turning point in my life came when I was 15. Liverpool wanted me, but the club was 3 hours away from my home. I sat down and talked to my mother and after a long discussion, I was able to convince her as well. I loved my friends in my neighborhood and they are still my best friends, but at that time my neighborhood became a very dangerous place and I wanted to get away from it and concentrate on my football. My mother and sister had sacrificed so much for me, it was imperative for me to be successful here.
''RAHEEM! DID YOU PRAY?"
For 2 years, I was not around. You can ask my friends. I was going to practice every day, and when they let me visit my mother in London for the day, I'm going back to Liverpool. I closed myself off from the world. I was just concentrating on football. The club had arranged for me to live in an old couple's home. The old couple in their 70s treated me as if I were their own grandchild. I told my mom that she called me every morning and said, "Raheem! Did you pray? Have you thanked God for what he has given you?" they were gone.
"MY PURPOSE WAS TO MAKE MY MOTHER HAPPY"
This was probably the most critical period of my life, my goal was to sign a good contract and make my mother and sister happy. The happiest moment in my life was the day I bought a house for my mother. When I was a kid, I remember my mom texting me the address of our new house three or four times over a two-year period while I was at practice. We kept moving from one house to another because we couldn't pay the rent. It seemed normal to me at the time, but now I can understand how difficult that period was for my mother.
"AT WEMBLEY I SAID TO MYSELF..."
I was 17 when I was first called up for the national team and I was going to the World Cup qualification match against Ukraine at Wembley. On the way to the stadium on the team bus, I looked outside at myself… This was my friend’s annex house… This was the park where we skated… This was the corner where we tried to pick up a girl… This was the green field where I started dreaming of football. England is still a place where a mischievous child can reach his dreams.
Sterling trained with Queens Park Rangers for seven years before transferring to Liverpool.
Sterling signed a contract with Liverpool in February 2010. On 1 August 2010, he made his debut in a friendly match against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored his first goal for the Liverpool youth team in a 2-2 match against Hibernian.
On 14 July 2015, he transferred to City for €62.50 million for a transfer fee of £49 million.
National team career
Since Sterling was born in Jamaica, he could also play for the Jamaican national team. Moreover, her mother wanted it very much. But Sterling preferred England.
Sterling was named to the England U-17 national team for the U-17 World Cup in 2011. He also scored 1 goal in the match England won 4-2 on penalties against Argentina.
Private life
Raheem Sterling, who is married and has two children, has come to the fore due to the turmoil he has experienced from time to time in his private life. On August 8, 2013, Sterling was arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, a model, but was acquitted due to insufficient evidence against him. He was attacked by a racist hooligan on December 16, 2017.