Kevin De Bruyne admits he had reservations over Raheem Sterling before the pair linked up at Manchester City .
The Belgian midfielder and Sterling both signed for City in big-money deals under Manuel Pellegrini in the summer of 2015.
He admits he arrived desperate to rid his " Chelsea reject" tag while Sterling was unfairly criticised and branded a "flash guy" following his acrimonious Liverpool exit.
Sterling is now in contention for Player of the Year after an excellent campaign, silencing his critics for club and country.
De Bruyne admits he wasn't sure over the character he would meet in the Etihad changing room but was pleasantly surprised.
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"Before I came to Manchester City, I didn’t really know what to make of this Raheem Sterling guy. I had never met him, and from what I’d read about him, I thought he was going to be a very different character," he told the Players' Tribune.
"I didn’t think he’d be a bad guy, really. But 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*******, maybe?
"Over time, I got closer to Raheem, because our sons were born around the same time, so they would always play together. He couldn’t be more different from what the tabloids were saying.
"This is the real truth: Raheem is one of the nicest, most humble guys I’ve met in football."
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The pair both played pivotal roles in City's title success last term and linked up again on Sunday as De Bruyne set up Sterling for the opener at Crystal Palace .
The England international scored twice at Selhurst Park to take his tally in all competitions to 21 goals.
City briefly returned to the top of the Premier League with the win before Liverpool's success over Chelsea.
