Gary Lineker calls out the Daily Mail as Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne slams the media’s negative view of Raheem Sterling.
Kevin De Bruyne admitted that he got his pre-conceived idea of Raheem Sterling wrong prior to meeting with his former teammate for the first time.
The midfielder, who has been out for much of the season, before returning for the FA Cup win against Huddersfield, has revealed that he had reservations about some of his teammates when he first arrived at Etihad.
His opinion of Raheem Sterling has changed with the two enjoying a fruitful partnership when playing together at City.
Kevin De Bruyne said the he expected sterling to be a ‘d***head’ before he met him.
And after reading what De Bruyne had to say, Gary Lineker tweeted: “Never read the Daily M**l!”
Never read the Daily M**l! https://t.co/bDB3Aiqaqq
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 9, 2024
Kevin De Bruyne: “I am a brutally honest person. So I will let you in on a little secret. Before I came to Manchester City, I didn’t really know what to make of this Raheem Sterling guy. I had never met him, and from what I’d read about him in the English press, I thought he was going to be a very different character.
“I thought.…
“Well.…
“I didn’t think he’d be a bad guy, really. But the tabloids were always claiming that he was arrogant. So I guess I thought he’d be … what do the English call it?
“A bit of a dickhead, maybe?
“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? I’m not difficult. This is ridiculous. These people don’t even know me! But honestly, when you read about other players, it influences the way you think. You can’t help it.
“Then I got to City and I actually met Raheem, and we’d talk a bit after training, and I thought, Wait, this guy seems really cool? What’s the story here?
“Truthfully, I don’t 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 recognized what a smart and genuine person he is. He couldn’t be more different from what the tabloids were saying.
“This is the real truth: Raheem is one of the nicest, most humble guys I’ve met in football.”
De Bruyne goes on to say: “Anyway, one day we were talking and Raheem said something like, “Mate, I thought you were going to be well different, before I met you. I thought you were going to be really distant and shy. But you’re actually quite funny.”
I said, “I have a dry humor.”
He said, “Well dry.”
Then he said, “So what did you think I’d be like?”
I said, “Honestly? I thought you were going to be really arrogant!”
He looked at me like, “Mate!”
And I looked at him like, “What? You thought I was going to be weird!”
It’s a great lesson, I think. In my experience, footballers can be a lot different than you expect, especially if you really get to know them.
This is definitely true for me as well.
I can understand why Raheem thought I was going to be difficult. Since I was 16 years old, there was a cloud that followed me around.
Read his story by clicking HERE.
— Players’ Tribune Football (@TPTFootball) January 9, 2024
Twitter users reacted after Gary Lineker calls out the Daily Mail as Kevin De Bruyne slams the media’s negative view of Raheem Sterling…
@PSBaker10: My sister-in-law met all the England team whilst working at Penny Hill Park where they have stayed before matches. Almost word for word what Kevin said: she told me Raheem was nicest and most humble of the lot.
@sheikhemm: Raz genuinely must be a decent guy for Kev to say this after he costed him millions of assists 😂😂
@CFC_Finestt: Well he’s a bit of a Dic*head on the pitch mate
@MarkBrierley75: Better diver than Tom Daley
@CFC_Mitty: These two have a special bond 💙🤍
@PaulEll76243381: I’d like sterling if he didn’t dive at every opportunity he gets
@Wod1888: Never mentioned Sterling was overrated and a dreadful finisher so he’s not that brutally honest
@Castle_Rep: It’s simple before you judge people, get to know them
@leonht6: Still annoys me a bit that sterling wasn’t part of the treble win purely because of how much he contributed to our success before that, some player on his day🥲
SEE MORE: Fans hit back at Daily Mail as age of Sadio Mane’s wife comes into question
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