Raheem Sterling To Sign Multi Million Sponsor Deals

The transition of Raheem Sterling from being the pantomime villain in much of the tabloid media coverage to being the stand out star of the English Premier League is remarkable.

When Manchester City signed Raheem Sterling from Liverpool for around £50 million in July 2014 no one quite expected the media scorn which would follow. The mobilisation of the press by the Liverpool embedded fanboys resulted in a vilification of Raheem in the popular media.

Pictures of the house he bought his mother, his dirty car, his shopping at Poundland, his purchasing of Greggs sausage rolls and the tattoo of a gun on his leg, all became conflated and he became  a totem of bling culture.

The incessant carping by the media served to whip up supporters of other clubs into a vitriolic booing frenzy. The mission of those Liverpool driven media fanboys seemed complete but then something strange happened.

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Rather than buckling under the intense pressure – the pressure which had even resulted in him being assaulted outside the City training ground – Sterling simply soldiered on. But he soldiered on doing the right things.

He paid attention to the plight of those from similar backgrounds who suffered the similar difficulties and distractions which he had. And somehow his stoic response to outright racism which he faced began to stem the tide. His forthright challenging of the media brought many of them to heel.

It also delivered some ancillary benefits as like it or not, Raheem Sterling became the UK equivalent of Colin Kaepernick. Rather than shying away from this additional pressure, he embraced the challenge and became the face of a  public campaign by Nike.

The opinion around Raheem began to change. Awards started to materialise. Stories appeared in the press about the work with survivors from the Grenfell Tower tragedy and others. The booing has started to subside, everywhere but the backwaters of Merseyside.

It has helped that Sterling has achieved all of this whilst delivering some increasingly spectacular performances on the pitch. In his last 87 games for Manchester City he has delivered 87 goals and assists! Stellar results which have meant he has become one of the most famous players in European football.

It is not a surprise therefore that Sterling stands on the verge of striking a series of commercial contracts which will eclipse anything which other players may have. Reflecting both his value on the pitch and his cultural position.

Apparently Sterling has an existing boot contract with Nike which is due to expire at the end of 2018. Rumours suggest he is in negotiations with Air Jordan, who will launch a foray into the football world around Sterling. This deal alone is thought to be in excess of $120million.

That is not all. There are talks of discussions with technology partners, clothing manufacturers and retailers and with Gilette. This all suggests that Sterling has a potential commercial reach comparable with Ronaldo or Beckham.

Given all of this it would appear as though we are likely to see a lot more of Raheem in the press in the coming months. Let us just hope we continue to see the accompanying excellent on the pitch displays too!