Sterling happy for former Liverpool team-mates after Euro win but insists Prem is still No1 trophy - 7M sport

Sterling happy for former Liverpool team-mates after Euro win but insists Prem is still No1 trophy



Posted Saturday, July 27, 2019 by Thesun.co.uk

RAHEEM STERLING felt no sense of jealousy when he watched his old Liverpool mates lift the Champions League last month.

Because, deep down, he knew that three weeks earlier he had laid hands on the trophy which REALLY matters.

Sterling happy for former Liverpool team-mates after Euro win but insists Prem is still No1 trophy
Raheem Sterling has revealed he was happy for his old Liverpool team-mates after their Champions League triumph Credit: Manchester City FC - Getty

Sterling happy for former Liverpool team-mates after Euro win but insists Prem is still No1 trophy
The England star had already bagged successive Premier League medals less than a month before Credit: Manchester City FC - Getty

Sterling happy for former Liverpool team-mates after Euro win but insists Prem is still No1 trophy
Sterling revealed making it a domestic hat-trick remains Manchester City's aim next season Credit: Manchester City FC - Getty

For a second successive season, Sterling bagged a Premier League medal — pipping the Reds by a point on the final day.

That was just one part of an unprecedented domestic Treble for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

England star Sterling, 24, has no doubts about which trophy means more as he prepares for another meeting with the Reds.

And next Sunday, he will again face his old club in the Community Shield at Wembley — before trying to make it a hat-trick of league titles.

Asked how he felt watching the club he left four years ago enjoy Euro glory in Madrid, Sterling said: “I was really happy for them.

“Happy for some of the players I know to lift the Champions League.

“But for me, what we did last season — every day, week in, week out — was exceptional.

“The Champions League is massive for us as a club — yet the most important thing is still winning the Premier League.

“That’s our main objective going into this season.

“Yes, it would be nice to win the Champions League, but first and foremost we want to win the league.

“The Premier League is your bread and butter, every weekend, what you train for every day.

“The Champions League is nicer looking, the most prestigious some people say — but domestically every weekend you have to put in a shift.

“You’re going to tough places, you’re off to Crystal Palace, Burnley, it is very difficult. You put so much time into it.”

City showed incredible hunger to follow up their 100-point season in 2017-18 with 98 last term.

Sterling was a strong contender for PFA Player of the Year, bagging 31 goals for club and country.

But he has warned their rivals that ruthless City will only get better.

He said: “It was a massive stepping stone to have belief in our squad, we’ve been building it over these last couple of years.

“Since the manager has come in, we’ve got stronger every year.

“Last season was a good one for me, as with a lot of the boys, but it’s about trying to get better as a player.

“We’re all at an age where we all want to keep getting better all the time. There isn’t a player here who thinks they are already at their best.

“That is what drives us to go on to big things.”

And Sterling admits Guardiola’s obsessive attention to the smallest of details has been a huge driving force behind his remarkable development.

His rapid progress since the former Barcelona boss took over at the Etihad three years ago has been nothing short of breath-taking.

In fact, Sterling’s goals-a-season tally has more than TREBLED under Guardiola — from 10 in 2016-17, to 23 in 2017-18, then last term’s 31.

He said: “The manager talks to us as a group and you take information on. You learn. If you don’t learn — you don’t play.

“It’s not like he’s sat there in a room with a pen and paper writing things down on what I should do.

“He’ll tell you, ‘I’ve been a professional before too.’ He helps me along the way in terms of little details, doing things a little simpler and taking a lot more care.

“If you don’t want to improve your own game, or don’t want to look at yourself, then there is nothing Pep can do to help you.

“I take a lot of positives from him, purely by the way he carries himself, the way he sets those high standards.

“It rubs off. That has improved me the most — the standards he sets.”

City will head for home tonight after the final match of a difficult pre-season tour against sister club Yokohama F Marinos.

And showing the kind of hunger Guardiola thrives on, Sterling has promised City will put down a marker when they line up against Jurgen Klopp’s men at Wembley.

Sterling added: “To win the league three times in a row is massive and it will be harder than last season.

“We are getting our work in now, getting our fitness up — and we will definitely be ready for the Community Shield against Liverpool.

“Teams like Liverpool, all these big clubs, will try to take titles off us.

“But we want to keep winning them for as long as possible.”

Sterling has been playing in a more central role in pre-season, with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus yet to return from their summer break.

Asked how he can improve on last term, the Three Lions ace said: “Goals, that’s what wins matches.

“I thought I put in a pretty good contribution last season. But there is always room for improvement.
“I’ll play anywhere, as long as I can be in the box to be honest.

“My preferred positions are on the wing or in and around the striker, anywhere along the front.

“I have to do one better than last season and keep going.”

And Sterling admitted another thing that has room for progress is City’s record in Europe.

In three years under Guardiola, they have yet to get past the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

It could have been so different had Sterling’s last-minute goal against Tottenham in April not been ruled out by VAR.

Sterling said: “Those were decisions out of our control in Europe, which is why we went out.

“But that competition is an area we can improve on.”

For now though, winning trophies at the Etihad and a quiet life in the Cheshire countryside is more than enough for settled Sterling.

He signed a new five-year contract last season and says moving to play in other leagues can wait for now.

He added: “I’m happy at City. I can go out, grab a bit of lunch and chill with my family without needing the city centre. We’re really happy.”



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