Raheem Sterling has revealed how much his reverence for Steven Gerrard has declined over the past years
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Manchester City star Raheem Sterling has described how his relationship with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has developed from a childhood hero status to nothing more than a professional rival.
The former Liverpool star spent five years of his career playing for the Reds, climbing from a highly-rated youth prospect poached from QPR to the Merseyside club's most exciting first-team player.
Sterling who left Anfield in 2015 to join Manchester City was telling BBC Radio 5 Live all about his footballing heroes when he spoke about one of Liverpool's most respected player in modern Premier League era.
"Probably when I was 17, 18 and 19 I was in awe [of great players]," the City winger said.
"[When I was young, I looked up to] Ronaldinho. If you check my history on YouTube, I think I've watched every single clip of his playing career.
"He was a player that I used to go in the garden to try to recreate but it could never be done. I tried it to the best of my ability, but he was something special.
"Steven Gerrard was the first person I felt a bit in awe of – I couldn’t believe I was standing in front of him but not now, it's just strictly business: ‘I need to beat your team’ and it's as simple as that.
"I think they are great players and everything but I don’t really dwell on that anymore."