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		</div><p>Kevin De Bruyne thought Manchester City team-mate Raheem Sterling was a “d***head” before they met after making assumptions based on how the England player had been portrayed in the media.</p>
<p>The pair both joined City in the summer of 2015 in big-money deals, Sterling from Liverpool for £44million and De Bruyne from Wolfsburg for £55m.</p>
<p>De Bruyne, after his brief spell at Chelsea, was well aware of his fellow new arrival’s reputation but was surprised to discover the man did not live up to his billing.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The race continues&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/BiuCWa77Ui">pic.twitter.com/BiuCWa77Ui</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeBruyneKev/status/1117458598110613504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><em>“Before I came to Manchester City, I didn’t really know what to make of this Raheem Sterling guy,”</em> the Belgium midfielder wrote in a piece in The Players’ Tribune.</p>
<p><em>“I had never met him, and from what I’d read about him…I thought he was going to be a very different character.</em></p>
<p><em>“The tabloids were always claiming that he was arrogant. So I guess I thought he’d be … what do the English call it? A bit of a d***head, maybe?</em></p>
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<p><em>“They said Raheem was this flashy guy who left Liverpool for money. They said I was ‘the Chelsea reject’. They said we were difficult characters.</em></p>
<p><em>“Then I got to City and I actually met Raheem, and we’d talk a bit after training, and I thought, ‘Wait, this guy seems really cool? What’s the story here?’</em></p>
<p><em>“I really got to know Raheem, and I recognised what a smart and genuine person he is. He couldn’t be more different.</em></p>
<p><em>“This is the real truth: Raheem is one of the nicest, most humble guys I’ve met in football.”</em></p>
<p>The perception of Sterling has shifted in the time since he left Liverpool as a precocious teenager and his outspoken views on racism, in addition to the way he has handled abuse on the pitch, have earned him much praise.</p>
<p>Coupled with his form on the pitch the England international is one of the leading candidates for this year’s Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year Award.</p>
<p>With a bit more good luck with injuries this season De Bruyne could have been joining him on that list.</p>
<p><em>“Raheem and I have this strong connection, because we arrived at City around the same time, and there was a lot of negativity about us in the press,”</em> the Belgian added.</p>
<p><em>“When I was at Chelsea, there was so much in the press about my relationship with Jose Mourinho but the truth is that I only ever spoke to him twice.</em></p>
<p><em>“I thought maybe Chelsea would let me go (in the summer of 2013) but then Mourinho texted me (to say) ‘You are staying. I want you to be part of this team’.</em></p>
<p><em>“I started two of the first four games of the season, after the fourth game that was it. I was on the bench, and I never really got a chance again.</em></p>
<p><em>“I didn’t get an explanation. I was just out of favour for some reason.</em></p>
<p><em>“Jose called me into his office in December, and it was probably the second big life-changing moment for me.</em></p>
<p><em>“He had some papers in front of him, and he said: ‘One assist. Zero goals. Ten recoveries’.</em></p>
<p><em>“I was completely honest. I said: ‘I feel like the club doesn’t really want me here. I want to play football. I’d rather you sell me’.</em></p>
<p><em>“So the club ended up selling me, and there was no big problem at all. Chelsea got more than double the price they paid for me, and I got into a much better situation at Wolfsburg.”</em></p>
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<p>De Bruyne could still play a pivotal part in City’s quest for the quadruple but it has been a frustrating time for him this season.</p>
<p><em>“This season has not been easy for me. The injuries and the matches that I’ve missed have been extremely difficult for me, mentally,”</em> he said.</p>
<p><em>“Sitting and watching a match from the stands is basically worse than torture for me. I can’t cope.</em></p>
<p><em>“Even at funerals, I don’t cry. But if you take football away from me? Forget it. I can’t cope.”</em></p>
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