The Englishman will face off against the Celtic manager this week.
Raheem Sterling has thanked Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers for the influence he had on his career, describing the Northern Irishman as a “fantastic guy”.
The 21-year-old will come up against his former Liverpool manager on Wednesday when Celtic host Manchester City in the Champions Leagaue at Parkhead.
Sterling is perhaps in the form of his life since Pep Guardiola arrived at Eastlands in the summer, having endured some up-and-down spells following a £49 million move from Liverpool last summer.
He broke into the Reds’ senior set-up under Rodgers in the 2013-14 campaign, which could, and maybe should, have seen the Merseyside outfit win the title.
Nevertheless, it was obvious that Sterling was one player with lots of promise, and the man himself has paid tribute to the Celtic boss for having such a positive impact on his career.
“He’s someone who gave me my full chance in the Premier League and gave me loads of starts and loads of confidence,” Sterling is quoted as saying by ESPN.
“He was massive for me. Every manager that I’ve worked with I’ve tried to learn as much as I can and he’s one that I definitely learnt a lot off.
“Credit to him he was a fantastic guy.”
Celtic go into the clash on the back of a 7-0 drubbing by Barcelona, and few would back against another heavy defeat for the Hoops come Wednesday.
They are playing well domestically, and won 6-1 on the weekend, but City have won six on the bounce in the Premier League. They are one of Europe’s in-form sides and they have the confidence, not to mention the personnel, to obliterate Celtic.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at the end of the game
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