Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes that Raheem Sterling is developing in the same way as Cristiano Ronaldo did and feels he can win the Ballon d’Or at Manchester City.
The England international has blossomed into one of the finest forwards in the world under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola and his influence continues to grow for both club and country.
Sterling has already scored five goals in four Premier League appearances this season and scored his eighth goal in as many appearances for England during the 5-3 win over Kosovo as well as providing three assists for his teammates.
As a result, Carragher believes the winger is much more than just England's best player and backed him to win the Ballon d'Or in the future.
"I have seen it written since the midweek internationals Sterling is England’s best player. He is much more than that," he wrote in his column for The Telegraph. "He is now in the top five or six best attacking players in the world, in that group just below Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"I wrote recently he and Sadio Mane are the best left-sided players out there. I now rate Sterling above Neymar.
"His ambition, alongside Kylian Mbappe, should be to fill the post-Messi and Ronaldo void once they retire. He is a potential Ballon d’Or winner over the next four or five years, the current upward trajectory destined to make Sterling a global superstar."
Carragher went as far as comparing Sterling's rapid development to that of Ronaldo at Manchester United.
The Portuguese icon went from strength to strength under Sir Alex Ferguson before completing a world record transfer to Real Madrid.
Carragher added: "I would go so far as to say there is a similarity with Cristiano Ronaldo’s development at Manchester United.
"As he does not take penalties or free-kicks like Ronaldo it is difficult to match his strike rate, but Sterling should certainly target 30 goals for City in this campaign and look to repeat those numbers for the peak of his career.
"The concept of the wide striker was revolutionised by Ronaldo and he has not stopped breaking goal records since, striking another four for his country earlier this week. Sterling has different traits, yet his capacity to get on the end of opportunities means he too can be prolific."
Many fans baulked at Sterling's £50million price tag and Carragher firmly believed Liverpool had got the better end of the deal. However, the former England international admitted that sum will prove to be a bargain.
"I never envisaged he would become as good as he is and thought Liverpool had secured a good deal to get just under £50 million," he conceded. "I was wrong. By the end of his career it will be obvious City bought him at a bargain price."
