Sterling or Ronaldo: Brendan Rodgers thinks his star can match the World Player of the Year…
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has lauded teenage winger Raheem Sterling, and has claimed that the England international can go on to be as good as World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo.
Reports in the Daily Mirror explain that Liverpool face the daunting task of halting the man Rodgers rates as the best player in the world on Tuesday night when they travel to face European champions Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo was applauded from the field after scoring in Real’s 3-0 romp at Anfield last month – and Kop boss Rodgers believes Sterling would have been watching closely after name-checking the Portuguese superstar as a role model in the summer.
“I would argue that, at 19, Raheem has had a similar impact on the game to Ronaldo at the same age,” said Rodgers.
“Ronaldo came to this country as an 18-year-old with Manchester United and made an immediate impact. And in the last couple of years, I’d say that Raheem has made a similar impact at the beginning of his career.
“Now it’s about Raheem going to the next level. The first part of the learning curve is getting into the team and establishing yourself as a player and earning respect. Raheem has done that – and now hopefully he will move on to the next level like Ronaldo did.
“Raheem certainly won’t find a better role model. Ronaldo lives his life as a professional and his stats dictate everything. As a footballer, he is super-efficient.”