Raheem Sterling left Liverpool in contentious circumstances and didn't endear himself to fans with some of his behaviour while on Manchester City's books
Raheem Sterling at Feyenoord
Raheem Sterling didn't endear himself to Liverpool fans after leaving the club(Image: Getty Images)
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Two of Raheem Sterling's former clubs are due to face off on Sunday, with Liverpool going up against Manchester City.
The former England winger left Anfield under a bit of a cloud, with the manner of his exit not going down too well with supporters. A little later on, he didn't exactly endear himself to the Reds faithful with his comments about Joe Gomez.
Sterling made his Liverpool debut as a teenager and was part of the team which finished as Premier League runners-up behind City in 2014. Just one year on from that, though, he moved to the Etihad Stadium in a blockbuster £49m move.
The wide man will feel he justified the switch by becoming a four-time Premier League champion under Pep Guardiola. However, his standing at Anfield arguably never recovered even before his public criticism of Gomez, though that certainly didn't make things any better.
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Sterling's comments came after England earned a narrow UEFA Nations League victory over Iceland in 2020. The winger put Gareth Southgate's team in front from the penalty spot only for Gomez to concede a late spot-kick to give the opposition a chance to level things up.
Luckily for the Three Lions, Birkir Bjarnason missed the target from 12 yards. However, Sterling publicly called out his team-mate and Liverpool fans weren't happy.
"We didn't expect the red card," Sterling told Sky Sports when reflecting on Kyle Walker's dismissal. "But it happened and we kept on playing our football.
"We kept trying to create chances and kept contact then we got the penalty in the end. We shouldn't have conceded that sloppy penalty in the end. But we got lucky in the end."
Some Reds fans accused their former player of disrespect, while others even called for then-manager Jurgen Klopp to keep players away from England duty. To put things in further context, it's worth noting this wasn't the first time Sterling and Gomez clashed.
Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez squaring up
Sterling and Gomez clashed on the pitch at Anfield in 2019(Image: Getty Images)
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In 2019, the pair had a dispute on the field during Liverpool's Premier League win over City and then clashed again during an England training camp. The pair were reported to have needed separating after an incident in the team canteen.
Sterling was dropped by international boss Southgate as a result and gave his side of things on social media. "Both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on," he said.
"We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me. This is why we play this sport because of our love for it - me and Joe Gomez are good, we both understand it was a five to 10 second thing... it's done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is. Let's get focus on our game on Thursday,"
As for the on-field clash at Anfield, Gomez's father Augustus suggested Liverpool fans' chants of "there's only one greedy b*****d'" may have got to Sterling. However, he was proud of how his son behaved during the clash and confirmed Sterling had apologised.
"It is normal. Young people are very ambitious and very willing to win for their team and that is what happens. If Liverpool were losing, one of the players would be agitated as well," he told The Mirror at the time.
“Raheem Sterling - it is not his fault. Fans were agitating him and he took it out because of his frustration. We all understand that; it is football, we are human beings.”