The Sad Decline of Raheem Sterling

So I was driving around this weekend as I often do going from place to place. I had a nice time at the beach this weekend with my son and fiancee, but you guys don't want to hear about that, at least I don't think you do anyway, but that's definitely not why you clicked on this video. You clicked on this video because you wanted to hear my take about Raheem Sterling. Now, this was announced over the weekend that he was arrested in the UK for drug driving. Now, you might be thinking drug driving, not drunk driving. Yes, drug driving, something very, very different and equally, if not even more dangerous, depending on what substance or substances were in his system at the time. But what do we know about this incident and why is it yet another disappointing episode in Raheem Sterling's latter career, which has been an unmitigated disaster for the most part. I mean, ever since the guy turned 30, his kind of career and everything is just completely tanked. So I'm going to give my thoughts on this and on him really, because he is a guy who has been mistreated by the media in the UK over the years. It's fair to say I'm looking at you, the son, at least I think it was the son anyway. I'll try and find that headline from back in the day, which was absolutely deplorable. But we'll go through this incident guys here on thefootballchronicle.com. Hayley producing yet again when it comes to the article. Thank you so much for that. And I'm going to give my take on this as always, guys, let's dive in. Former Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal forward Raheem Sterling has been arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drugs following a collision on the M3 motorway, according to reports. Sterling was detained by Hampshire Constabulary on Thursday morning after the Lamborghini that he was driving collided with motorway barriers on the southbound carriageway near the Minley interchange. Police confirmed that no other vehicles were involved in the incident and that no injuries were reported, thankfully. In a statement, Hampshire Constabulary said, quote, just before 9am on Thursday, the 28th of May, we received reports that a Lamborghini was in collision with barriers on the M3 southbound close to the Minley interchange. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported. The driver, a 31 year old man from Berkshire, has been arrested on suspicion of driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs, driving dangerously, possession of a class C drug and failing to provide a specimen. He has been bailed while our inquiries continue, end quote. Sources later confirmed to the Press Association that the individual arrested was Raheem Sterling because of the British processes when it comes to this sort of thing. They don't name people while there is an ongoing investigation, which there is in this case. However, it's been leaked through the Vine that it was Sterling. His representatives were approached for comment following this, however, unsurprisingly, they have not spoken to the press yet. People close to the former England international have described the past two years as an extremely difficult period, both professionally and personally. According to sources, Sterling has struggled with the psychological impact of a challenging phase in his career, during which he has faced criticism and scrutiny despite a distinguished record at club and international level. The source also said, Isolated. The second he touches the ball, he's been told he's a flop and he's finished. Mocked. Heckled. He moved to the Netherlands to escape and rediscover his love for the game, but the negativity followed. It's been an extremely tough couple of years for him and this incident encompasses that, end quote. The source also stressed that Sterling had been arrested under suspicion and that no evidence had yet been presented proving drugs were found in his system. Let me just weigh in on that very quickly. Yes, there is no proof that there were drugs in his system, but he refused a test at the scene, which does more than imply that there was probably something in his system. Legally, it does not prove that, but if you didn't have something in your system, then you would probably want to provide a test because it would make you look like you're innocent because you would be innocent in that case. Obviously, that does not prove guilt. This is not a witch hunt, nor should it be, but it does imply it, I must say. I would say the exact same thing no matter who we are talking about here. Whether we're talking about Sterling or we're talking about an average Joe, John or George on the street, right? Doesn't matter, I'd say the exact same thing and let's be honest here, you would too. Sterling remains on bail while police continue their investigation. One of England's most accomplished players of the past decade, Sterling has earned 82 caps for his country and scored 20 international goals. He played a key role in England's run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Euro 2020 final under Gareth Southgate. After progressing through the youth ranks at QPR, Sterling moved to Liverpool and made his senior breakthrough before securing a high-profile transfer to Manchester City in 2015, where he proceeded to win pretty much everything in the game. But after moving to Chelsea in 2022, he basically went on the bomb squad eventually and was effectively frozen out of the team. He was forced to train by himself and he had no prospect of making it into the Blues first team again. And as he wasn't getting any game time, he did what most people would do. He eventually got to move over to Feyenoord in the Netherlands and he's made eight appearances so far for Feyenoord, which are a really big club over in the Netherlands, one of the big three over there. So yeah, the standard of football might not be the Premier League or anything, but you know, they're not bad teams by any stretch of the imagination and fair play to him for actually going out and trying to revitalise his career. Honestly, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Sterling. I always feel like he's vilified in the media unfairly. I really do. He's been coming for so much criticism over the years. He really, really has. And it's very easy to criticise Sterling now, but let's just talk about his playing career here for a second. I mean, like I said, he won pretty much everything in the club game. The one thing he didn't win was the Champions League. That was it. He's an incredibly accomplished footballer from his time at Liverpool and also at Manchester City as well. And you look at it on the international front as well. He'd always played well for England. I always liked him for England. I thought he did an excellent job in a three-line shirt. I don't feel like he ever really let the country down at any point personally. I might be missing something. I might be looking back with rose-tinted spectacles there, but that's my general impression of him. I thought he was a really good player for us. And yeah, things didn't work out at Chelsea. Things didn't work out at Arsenal either. But again, you look at the guy's playing career, you look how early he broke through. He was like, what, 17 when he started playing for Liverpool regularly. And you look at all the greats of football that came through at that age and started playing regular first-team football from a very young age, 16, 17, 18 years old, right? You can name so many of them that had their best football before they were 30. Some of the true legends and greats of the game, right? The only two that I can think of that came through that young and played for a very long time, indeed, are still playing at a relatively high level, will both be involved in the World Cup this summer, no doubt. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Those two are just freaks, right? But you look at all the other players, particularly pacey players that came through the ranks really, really young. You look at R9 Ronaldo. His best years were definitely when he was way younger. Michael Owen as well. He was finished by the time he was like 25 with all of his injuries. Wayne Rooney, he was on the decline from 30. No doubt about that whatsoever. Ronaldinho as well. Neymar. Sterling is in that bracket in terms of a player that has been very, very good when he was younger. But when he hits 30, things are just not working the same for him, unfortunately. He doesn't have that electric pace. He doesn't have the fitness levels he once did. And basically playing no football for over a year at Chelsea will have done that. And I'm sure some people will be saying, well, hang on a minute. This guy is a multi multimillionaire. How can he not be happy? He's just entitled. He's just spoil. And to that, I say, shut up, right? I don't care how much money you earn. You can be depressed. You can suffer from mental illness. All these famous and rich people that have had mental health problems over the years. Do you really think Sterling is immune from that? Now, we don't know what drug or drugs were in his system at the time. It's a class C drug. I'm not going to speculate about what class C drug or drugs were in his system at the time, but the fact it's class C means that it's not one of the more severe ones that you probably thought it was. But there is one that's pretty popular and actually has been in the news recently about a absolutely horrific crash that was caused by someone who was on laughing gas, nitrous oxide. Yes. Believe it or not, NOS is actually a class C drug in the UK. It's not higher than that, which I think is a bit wrong, to be honest. You look at some of the drugs that are in B and A tier, and I would definitely say that NOS is at least as bad as one of them, especially when you're driving. So I don't know if it's that. It could be something else. We don't know. Things like anabolic steroids, they come under class C as well. So yeah, it's really sad. It's really sad to see this happen to Sterling. It really is. And I hope that he gets the help he needs. I hope that this all gets cleared up and he's OK. Sounds like he's not, though. I mean, the guy is trying to rebuild his career and he's being hounded by the press. People taking the mick out of him saying, oh, you've dropped down to the Netherlands. You're pretty much semi-retired. Why don't you just give up? This is the only thing he's known ever since he was like, well, younger than 15, like he was in the youth team at QPR when he was just a kid, like an actual child. So I think just give him the space he needs. I hope his career has a bit of an upturn. It's just been a steady slide down in recent times. And it's sad to see because he was a really good footballer. But guys, let me know what you think in the comments below. What do you think about Sterling? Is he someone who's a failure of English football, a letdown or someone who is unrightfully derided and mocked by English fans and the press? I want to hear what you have to say as always on this one. Like, share, comment, subscribe, guys. I will see you soon for much more content on the world of football here on thefootballchronicle.com, guys. See you soon. Have a good one.