Sterling branded 'flashy' and told to take out his earrings when at Liverpool

Raheem Sterling has spoken about how he was told he was 'too flash' when arrived at Liverpool as a teenager and believes young players need the freedom to express themselves.

The Manchester City winger caught up with the World Cup winner and US Women's national team player Megan Rapinoe and the pair discussed various issues in their game.

The England international praised the United States' relaxed approach to sport in terms of allowing stars self-expression both on and off the pitch.

Sterling believes English footballers often hold back parts of their personalities to fit with the expectations that are placed on them and recalled how his appearance was scrutinised when he joined Liverpool as a 17-year-old.

'It’s just little things. I remember being in Liverpool and I used to have two earrings in,' he said in the video shared on his YouTube channel.

'I came down from London, I was a down south boy so I was a little cheeky one. I remember just travelling up there and a lot of the people in management was "take them two earrings out, that's flashy, that's blingy".

'I’m not a materialistic person anyway that was just my little thing.

'Then you kind of get embedded in this way of life and the English football culture of when you're young not being flash.

'We're not saying be flash but there’s little traits that people have that means a lot to them.

'When I used to travel to games, it might sound silly but I used to love having my little earrings in, that was like my thing to have.

'With the younger ones now with Sanch [Jadon Sancho] and Callum [Hudson-Odoi] they are expressing themselves a lot more which is good to see.'

Sterling is preparing for the Premier League to return with a possible re-start planned for mid-June.

But the winger believes it would take players four to five weeks to be fit enough to return to compete at a high level.

'They are hopefully saying games started by June 12 but we're still waiting on the government to give the go-ahead,' he added. 'I know the clubs are in talks and doing their best to try and find the best resolution for this.

'But we've had a few meetings cancelled, even on Zoom, to talk about the restart so we just have to wait and see really. You can't come back in with one and a half or two weeks (of training). You'd need a full four to five weeks, especially if you're going to go back into competition, you're not paying friendlies, you're literally playing to win.

'You do need to do that preparation - you can't just go straight in.'