Sterling matures into Man City's difference maker

Raheem Sterling had his own special fanclub in attendance as Manchester City eased into the FA Cup final on Saturday with the England winger paying for 550 pupils of his former school to attend the match at Wembley.

However, appreciation of Sterling the player and the man now extends from the estate he grew up in the shadows of England's national stadium, to Manchester and beyond as he becomes an ever more important figure on and off the field for club and country.

City go into Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg at Tottenham still on course for a historic quadruple of trophies.

Sterling scored the winning penalty as they retained the League Cup in February, and the Premier League title is also still in their hands despite a titanic battle with his old club Liverpool.

His 19 goals and 16 assists for Pep Guardiola's men have seen him emerge as City's leading candidate for player of the year awards, while a three-year drought for England has been emphatically ended by a run of six goals in his last four international caps.

"He is incredible," said England captain Harry Kane, who has the challenge of outgunning his international teammate for Tottenham in three meetings over the next two weeks.

"He is a great a player and so humble as well. He just wants to work hard and get better."
The subject of alleged racist abuse during a match at Chelsea in December, he turned the focus on the media for their portrayal of young black players compared to their white counterparts helping to "fuel racism and aggressive behaviour."
"We can't hide from the fact that he's had difficult moments with England and he's turned that full circle."
That faith has been more than rewarded. Even as the Catalan coach was left frustrated at times in his first two seasons by Sterling's failings in front of goal, he promised "he will become one of the best players in the world because he has everything."