Kevin De Bruyne reveals he thought Raheem Sterling was a ‘d***head’ before joining Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he thought Raheem Sterling was a ‘d***head’ before eventually getting to know the England forward at Manchester City.Sterling and De Bruyne both signed for the Etihad Stadium club in summer 2015, with the former’s move to City a drawn out saga involving a contract dispute and the player sitting out of training due to an alleged illness.Sterling was constantly criticised during his final months at Liverpool2
Sterling was constantly criticised during his final months at Liverpool
The 24-year-old, who has developed into a world class talent since joining City, was widely criticised throughout his final season at Anfield, with a number of former Liverpool players, as well as their then-manager Brendan Rodgers, slamming Sterling for disrespecting the club.He was also a target of consistent criticism by the press, something which has followed Sterling even since leaving Liverpool. Only last December he posted a message on Instagram calling out the English media for their negative portrayal of black footballers, a day after Sterling was allegedly racially abused by Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge. And this negative portrayal in English newspapers caused De Bruyne, who joined City a month after Sterling, to view the forward with suspicion.De Bruyne quickly discovered that the Sterling he knew of from the media was nothing like Sterling in reality.“I am a brutally honest person,” the Belgium international wrote for The Players’ Tribune. “So I will let you in on a little secret.“Before I came to Manchester City, I didnt really know what to make of this Raheem Sterling guy. I had never met him, and from what Id read about him in the English press, I thought he was going to be a very different character.“I thought…“Well…“I didnt think hed be a bad guy, really. But the tabloids were always claiming that he was arrogant. So I guess I thought hed be… what do the English call it?“A bit of a dickhead, maybe?

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...
  • Barcelona vs Manchester United (Tuesday, 8pm) talkSPORT
  • Juventus vs Ajax (Tuesday, 8pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Porto vs Liverpool (Wednesday, 8pm) talkSPORT
  • Napoli vs Arsenal (Thursday, 8pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest (Friday, 12:30pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Leeds vs Wigan (Friday, 3pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Sunderland vs Doncaster (Friday, 5:15pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Norwich vs Sheffield Wednesday (Friday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Newcastle vs Southampton (Saturday, 5:30pm) talkSPORT
  • Accrington Stanley vs Luton (Saturday, 5:30pm) talkSPORT 2
  • Everton vs Manchester United (Sunday, 1:30pm) talkSPORT
  • Cardiff vs Liverpool (Sunday, 4pm) talkSPORT
“Raheem and I have this strong connection, because we arrived at City around the same time, and there was a lot of negativity about us in the press. They said I was ‘the Chelsea reject’. They said Raheem was this flashy guy who left Liverpool for money. They said we were difficult characters.“Of course, when you read this stuff about yourself, you think, ‘me? Im not difficult. This is ridiculous. These people dont even know me!’“But honestly, when you read about other players, it influences the way you think. You cant help it.“Then I got to City and I actually met Raheem, and wed talk a bit after training, and I thought, ‘wait, this guy seems really cool? Whats the story here?’.Sterling and De Bruyne are in their fourth season playing alongside one another at City2
Sterling and De Bruyne are in their fourth season playing alongside one another at City
“Truthfully, I dont have many close friends – inside or outside of football. It takes me a really long time to open up to people. But over time, I got closer to Raheem, because our sons were born around the same time, so they would always play together.“I really got to know Raheem, and I recognised what a smart and genuine person he is. He couldnt be more different from what the tabloids were saying.“This is the real truth: Raheem is one of the nicest, most humble guys Ive met in football.”

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne says the media coverage of Raheem Sterling made him expect the winger to be "a very different character" before his arrival at the Etihad Stadium.
Kevin de Bruyne explains what Man City teammate Raheem

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has admitted that he thought Raheem Sterling would be "would be a bit of a d*****" when he joined the club in 2015.
Kevin De Bruyne: I thought Raheem Sterling 'was a bit of a d

he's wrong The Belgium midfielder claims the English press forced him to have a negative view of Sterling before eventually getting to know him Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd***head' before eventually getting to know the England forward at Manchester City.
Kevin De Bruyne reveals he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd

Kevin De Bruyne thought Raheem Sterling would be a "d*****" at Man City. The Belgian midfielder and Sterling both joined City in the summer of 2015 as they bid to change public perceptions

Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd***head' before eventually getting to know the England forward at Manchester City. Sterling and De Bruyne both signed for the Etihad Stadium club in summer 2015, with the former's move to City a drawn out saga involving a contract dispute and the player sitting out of
Man City news: I thought Raheem Sterling would be a bit of a

Kevin De Bruyne thought Man City team-mate Raheem Sterling was a "d***head" before they met after making assumptions based on how the England player had been portrayed in the media. The pair both
Kevin De Bruyne on Man City teammate Raheem Sterling: 'I

Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he thought Raheem Sterling would be "a bit of a dickhead" before he got to know him at Manchester City. De Bruyne, who joined Manchester City from Wolfsburg in the
I thought Raheem Sterling would be a bit of a d***head

Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd***head' before eventually getting to know the England forward at Manchester City. Sterling and De Bruyne both signed for the
Kevin De Bruyne reveals he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd
Kevin De Bruyne reveals he thought Raheem Sterling was a 'd

Kevin de Bruyne explains what Man City teammate Raheem Sterling is really like. Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne admits he was expecting Raheem Sterling to live up to the picture painted
Kevin De Bruyne thought Raheem Sterling would be a "d

Kevin De Bruyne says he thought Raheem Sterling might have been a bit of a 'd***head' before he met him at Manchester City. De Bruyne moved to City from Wolfsburg back in 2015.
Kevin De Bruyne explains why he thought Raheem Sterling would