Ray Parlour believes Raheem Sterling ‘could be the best player in the world one day’ after watching his stunning hat-trick for Manchester City in the Champions League.
Sterling once again showed why many are hailing him as a world class talent with three goals which exhibited his crafty movement, incredible speed and vastly improved finishing.
His treble helped Man City to a 5-1 win over Italian side Atalanta, and took his tally to 18 goals and 14 assists in 39 Champions League games in a blue shirt.
There is little doubt the England man has transformed into one of the Premier League’s top players and his recent form has seen him compared to the likes of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
While that talk may be a little premature right now, Arsenal legend Parlour believes Sterling is well on his way to become one of the world’s best.
And he told talKSPORT on Wednesday that he’d definitely pick him over Liverpool star Sadio Mane, with both players making it onto the recently-announced Ballon d’Or shortlist.
Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the the former midfielder said: “I can’t believe Sterling is only 24, he’s still a young lad!
“I thought he was 27 or 28. His career has been so good, you’d think he’d been playing for years and years, but he’s only 24!
“Would you put him as the third best player in the world at the moment, behind Ronaldo and Messi?
“What about this one – Mane has been brilliant for Liverpool this year, but who would you have, Mane or Sterling?
“It would be close, Mane has been excellent, but I would definitely have Sterling.”
Parlour’s call is backed up by their stats. In 2019 so far, Mane has 17 goals and four assist for Liverpool. Sterling has 23 goals and 11 assists for Man City.
And the Romford Pele says the sky’s the limit for the 24-year-old flyer.
“Pep Guardiola knows he can get better as well, he can improve,” Parlour added.
“There are certain players [in the Man City team] and you think, that’s it, they’ve got to their peak now and it’s about maintaining their peak going forward.
“But I think Raheem can get ever better. He can score more goals, get in better positions and get more assists.
“He can be a player who scores four in a game, because he gets in so many good areas and his finishing has got better.
“It’s down to him now how far he wants to go. He could be the best player in the world one day.”
