Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand says Raheem Sterling deserves more respect for the way he has been able to deliver consistently amidst the high hopes started of success on the international scene.

Rio Ferdinand is a BBC pundit and the retired England international has been involved in the BBC coverage of the Euro 2020 tournament. Rio Ferdinand has been impressed with the England form of Sterling who had an underwhelming season for his club, Manchester City, last season.

Thanks to the contributions from Sterling, England are in the final and they have a date with destiny when they take on Italy in the final at the iconic Wembley Stadium later this weekend.

Manchester City star Raheem Sterling had a season to forget at club level personally in the last campaign especially in the second half of the season as he could not live up to the heights of his previous seasons in a City shirt. He was out of the starting XI for the big games in the second half of the season only for manager Pep Guardiola to start him in the club’s biggest gave ever, the Champions League final. Sterling produced a weak performance as favourites City lost 1-0 to Chelsea to see their Champions League dream end in disappointment. Sterling was able to recover from the disappointing season with Manchester City to play a crucial role for England to the extent that Rio Ferdinand says he deserves more respect shortly after his goal saw off Germany in a 2-0 win in the round of 16.

Sterling scored the first three goals for England at Euro 2020before adding an assist for the opening goal scored by team skipper Harry Kane against Ukraine in the quarterfinals. He won the controversial penalty against Denmark that led to the second England goal which gave the Three Lions a 2-1 victory over the Danes.