Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Raheem Sterling is now one of the best players in the Premier League but has doubts whether the Man City star can reach the standards set by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Sterling has flourished under the guidance of Pep Guardiola , becoming one of City's most important players.
The England international has made a blistering start to the new campaign with six goals in seven Premier League appearances this season as well as scoring six in four during England's EURO 2020 qualifying campaign.
He was backed by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate to match the likes of Ronaldo and Messi but Wenger has his doubts.
Questioned whether he has ability to rival the two superstars, he told beIN Sports: "At the moment I would say no.
"You have always to be careful, I personally like Sterling but when you talk about these guys you are talking about 50 goals a season for 10 seasons.
"So, I think personally that he is not there but he is one of the prominent players in the [Premier] League - which is one of the best in Europe."
Wenger was linked with a move for Sterling during his time as Gunners manager and admitted the 24-year-old reminded him of Arsenal legend Marc Overmars.
He added: "I always thought when he was a young boy, I thought he had unbelievable pace and quantity of power to repeat that pace.
"Both he and [Leroy] Sane are the highest intensity workers in the league, he is so quick on his first two yards, he reminds me of Marc Overmars. That’s unstoppable.
"What Sterling didn’t have back then was calmness in his finishing but now he has that. Sometimes, with very fast players they want to rush their finish and that’s what he has improved.
"He has confidence. He still misses some, his conversion rate could be improved, but he is an exceptional talent and he can cause damage against anybody."
