Raheem Sterling opens up on ‘difficult’ upbringing as troubled kid before becoming Premier League star

RAHEEM STERLING has opened up connected the “great enactment network” that saw him flooded a troubled puerility to go a Premier League star.

The Arsenal winger, 29, has a instauration successful his sanction that funds weapon banks and assemblage places for boys arsenic good arsenic hosting mentoring sessions.

That instauration is supporting a run launched contiguous by Multibank – a nationwide web of donation hubs designed to assistance those with cost-of-living struggles.

Several weeks ago, Sterling spent 3 hours with 7 young men from Brent’s younker offending work successful King’s Cross to enactment arsenic a mentor, giving proposal and telling his ain story.

Sterling was calved successful Kingston, Jamaica earlier moving to London with his parent property 5 aft his begetter was tragically murdered 3 years earlier.

A hard upbringing - including being displaced by societal lodging and regular schoolhouse suspensions - was turned astir from the property of 9 erstwhile helium came crossed Clive Ellington, a unpaid mentor to young boys who introduced Sterling to his archetypal shot club: Alpha and Omega FC successful Kingsbury, Brent.

On gathering Ellington, Sterling – who besides has 82 caps for England – explained: “It was a existent hard play for maine successful my schooling due to the fact that it was a clip I was getting expelled from school.

“I was moving schools, moving astir a lot. [Ellington] was a monolithic assistance for maine to benignant of spot a antithetic perspective.

“I ever struggled due to the fact that of circumstances astatine location that I couldn’t rather recognize myself.

“Those actions and things started to play a signifier successful my schoolhouse with my focus, with my behaviour and however I was wrong the schoolhouse environment.

“[Ellington] made maine spot antithetic opportunities. I wasn’t excessively overmuch into shot earlier that. I wasn’t playing, conscionable astatine schoolhouse and worldly astatine home, but helium brought maine into it astatine grassroot level.

“I was starting to grin again and having a spot that I could explicit myself was a existent value disconnected my shoulder.

“Looking backmost now, it’s easier to see, but arsenic a kid you’re astir apt not knowing what’s going on, but astatine the aforesaid time, taking successful what’s going on.

“So, you can’t rather recognize however to construe that successful your code and however to pass that with people.”

At 11-years-old, Sterling was picked up by academy systems astatine Queens Park Rangers and past Liverpool, going connected to prima for the Reds arsenic a 17-year-old.

After 7 years astatine Manchester City betwixt 2015 and 2022 – winning 4 Prem titles – helium joined Chelsea for astir £50m earlier joining the Gunners connected indebtedness this summer.

Sterling continued: “I springiness a batch of recognition to [Ellington]. It is thing that is precise captious for individuals to person a large enactment web astir them.

“Year aft year, the advancement successful my behaviour and past the advancement successful my behaviour and successful my attraction and conscionable maturing arsenic a young man.”

Tottenham are 1 of the archetypal Prem clubs to besides align with the Multibank scheme, focusing connected affording basal hygiene products, with a donation slope disposable astatine their crippled against Fulham connected December 1.

The Multibank's 2024 Christmas run is designed to rise consciousness and respond to rising issues of hygiene poverty. For much accusation visit: https://themultibank.co.uk/