Raheem Sterling on his fashion line, being ‘The Hated One’ and why football will always be the most important thing in his life

We know how that football obsession turned out: Sterling, still only 26, was one of the stars of England’s Euro 2020 journey and when he left Liverpool to join Manchester City in a £49 million transfer it made him the most expensive English player of all time, with a wage reputed to be in the region of £300,000 a week. He is a great footballer but Sterling, like his England team-mate Marcus Rashford and his hero, David Beckham, transcends his sport.

He is the public face of 1692 but is keen to stress how minor his actual role was in designing the clothes. ‘It’s very easy,’ he says, ‘apart from the designing, where they will ask, “Do you like this?” or “What do you think we could add?” It’s very minimal.’ Sterling, wearing his own brand — an oversized white cotton twill jacket and matching trousers — is friendly but cautious company when my recording machine is on but more funny and free when the interview has officially ended.

He may not have been hugely hands-on in the designing of the clothes but he did help provide the line’s name: 1692 refers to the birth date of Jamaica’s modern capital, Kingston, where Sterling was born. He left at the age of five but remains deeply connected to the island. ‘I feel like Jamaica is where I can recharge my batteries and feel good about myself,’ he says. ‘Everything in that country is so simple and I always have a great time.’

I came to Britain from Pakistan one month shy of my third birthday and I sometimes wonder how different my life might have turned out had my parents remained in their homeland. Does Sterling believe he would have become a footballer had he remained in Jamaica? ‘Most probably not,’ he admits. ‘That’s what’s great about life: you never know. I’m grateful for the opportunity of coming to the UK for my family and myself also, to make something of ourselves.’

That journey to make something of himself was not easy: when he was a toddler his father was shot dead while crossing a road that bordered gang territories, an incident that, unsurprisingly, Sterling says shaped the rest of his life. He arrived in Britain with his mother and older sister and they lived in Brent. Sterling was already football mad — I ask what he might have worn when he went to parties.

‘I didn’t go to any parties,’ he says quickly. ‘I was unloved.’ He says this in a tone that is so flat, fast and matter-of-fact it isn’t until I listen later that the power of his words fully hits home. The young Sterling may have felt unloved but he was blessed with talent. When he was only 10 he had major clubs keen to sign him. He ended up joining QPR, which led to his sister having to take him on a journey involving three different buses to get to team training. Sterling debuted for the team’s under-18s aged 14 and it was soon after that he recalls being bought his first item of designer clothing. ‘I think it was my 15th birthday and my mum bought me this suit,’ he recalls. ‘My mum thinks she’s a bit of a fashion person so she bought me this suit from Roberto Cavalli. My first designer and I was looking top.’

Sterling joined Liverpool at 15 and this was the first time the teenager had the money to splash out on nice clothes. The first fancy thing he bought? ‘Probably a pair of Louboutin trainers,’ he says. ‘It was the thing at the time, it was a nice feeling to be able to see a pair of trainers and get one or two.’ Sterling may have left Liverpool to join Manchester City for a record-breaking transfer fee but when I ask if he has entire rooms at home filled with clothes he shakes his head. ‘I’m not really someone who says, “This has just come out. I need to get it.” It’s not me.’

What is him is speaking out on issues he holds dear such as structural racism, and like Marcus Rashford he seems determined to use his celebrity to shine a light on perceived injustices and inspire positive change. It’s interesting how often the word ‘help’ comes up in Sterling’s past interviews; the notion of providing assistance seems important to him.

‘It comes from not having anything,’ he says, ‘and knowing what it’s like to want to be helped or wanting something you can’t afford.’ It is his public activism that has helped turn Sterling into a role model for millions but his own role model continues to be David Beckham. The lesson Sterling learnt from observing Beckham’s career is ‘not to put all your eggs in one basket. If you enjoy doing something else, why not enjoy it and express yourself in that field as well. As footballers, you’re told you’re not allowed to do this. But when Beckham did something it made a statement and people paid attention.’

Sterling has not always enjoyed a good relationship with the media and has faced press criticism for everything from showing off pictures of a house he bought for his mother to shopping at Poundland to having a tattoo of an assault rifle on his leg (which was in fact a reminder of a childhood vow never to touch guns). In the past he has branded himself as ‘The Hated One’ but he now seems much more confident and less concerned with how he might be portrayed. Fashion brand 1692 is said to have been inspired by Jamaica’s resilience. Does Sterling consider himself similarly resilient?

‘Very,’ he says. ‘It takes a lot for me to get very discouraged.’ The source of that resilience is his childhood. ‘It comes from being told never to be soft. My mum hammered that into me: never let anyone talk to you a certain way. With a lot of things that I’ve faced it’s a difficult situation but I’m calm — there are no issues and as Jamaicans there’s a lot that we’ve been through. Everyone makes mistakes and it’s how you go about it after.’

Sterling has needed that resilience not only to cope with pressures on but also off the pitch. He had a standout performance during the Euro 2020 championships but has struggled at Manchester City this season, which has led some to urge him to return to Liverpool.

‘Football is the most important thing in my life and it has made me who I am today,’ he says. ‘If it isn’t going the way I want I’m the most miserable person.’ Given the situation on the field, fashion must have felt like a welcome distraction, a reminder of other interests, but Sterling is confident that his passion for fashion is not a phase. Maybe he could design his own trainers, I suggest.

‘Don’t worry about that, pal,’ he laughs. ‘They’re on their way.’ The autumn launch of 1692 will, it is hoped, be followed by a spring/summer collection. ‘This is not something that’s going to happen today and tomorrow then it’s all packed away’ he says. ‘This is something I see for the long run.’

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