A former Liverpool player has slammed his old club for the way they treated Raheem Sterling during the winger’s time at the club.
Sterling broke onto the scene while at Anfield, making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2012 before going on to make 129 appearances.
He eventually left Anfield to sign for Manchester City in 2015, which did not go down well with the Reds faithful.
Former Reds defender Ryan McLaughlin believes Liverpool "threw Sterling under the bus" when he was just 17.
The infamous dispute between Sterling and former boss Brendan Rodgers in 2012, which was captured in the documentary ‘Being Liverpool’, certainly caught the eye of viewers, and McLaughlin.
However McLaughlin, who had a front-row seat for the dispute, felt it was harsh of the club to air the debate.
“I just don’t understand why the club threw him under the bus with that,” he told Goal .
“For a young kid, that could knock you completely. He was 17, and it made him out to be something he wasn’t. I look back and think ‘imagine that had been me’.
"Your family is watching it, you’d be devastated. Those things should have been kept behind-closed-doors.
“Rodgers calling him out, I’ve no problem with that. He’s the manager. But to air it? I felt that was wrong. It was poorly managed.
"It’s probably something that stuck with Raheem for a long time afterwards, which was unfair. He’s had that tag, when in reality anyone who spent time around him would tell you what a nice lad he is.”
