Sterling reveals the incredible story behind why he turned down Arsenal

Raheem Sterling has opened up on the incredible story about how he got his big break - which includes turning down Arsenal.

The Manchester City ace started off his youth career at Queens Park Rangers, spending seven seasons in the youth academy there before being snapped up by Liverpool.

Raheem Sterling burst onto the Liverpool scene at the age of 17 [Photo: Courtesy]

Sterling progressed through the Reds' youth ranks for two years before breaking into the first team at the tender age of 17.

Three impressive seasons at Anfield later and the pacy winger earned a £49million move to Manchester City.

Now, he is a vital member of Gareth Southgate's England squad competing at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Liverpool snapped Sterling up from QPR [Photo: Courtesy]

In his entry in The Players Tribune, Sterling reveals how he turned Arsenal down to ensure he got his big break in football.

"When I was 10 or 11, I was getting scouted by some big clubs in London. Fulham wanted me. Arsenal wanted me. And when Arsenal want you, of course you’re thinking you gotta go there. Biggest club in London, you know? So I’m running around telling my mates, 'I’m off to the Arsenal!'.

"But my Mum is a proper warrior. She knows how to make it in this world. She’s probably the most streetwise person I know. She sat me down one day, and she said, 'Look, I love you. But I don’t feel you should go to Arsenal'.

"I said, 'Ehhhh?'

Sterling scored 23 goals for Manchester City last season [Photo: Courtesy]

"She said, 'If you go there, there’s going to be 50 players who are just as good as you. You’ll just be a number. You need to go somewhere where you can work your way up'.

"She convinced me to go to QPR, and it was probably the best decision I ever made. At QPR, they didn’t let me slip up. But it was quite hard for my family, because my mum would never let me go to training alone. And she always had to work, so my sister would have to take me all the way out to Heathrow.

"Three busses. The 18 to the 182 to the 140. The red double-deckers with the blue wool ’80s vibe on the seats. Spent ages on those. We’d leave at 3:15 and get home at 11 p.m. Every. Single. Day. She’d sit upstairs in the little cafe and chill until I was done with training. Imagine being 17 years old and doing that for your little brother. And I never once heard her say, 'Nah, I don’t wanna take him'.

Sterling is representing England in Russia [Photo: Courtesy]

"At the time, I didn’t understand how much she was sacrificing. Her and my mum got me here. My whole family played a massive part in my life. Without them, you wouldn’t even know me."