Raheem Sterling: Manchester City star left ‘fuming’ after England captaincy gaffe from PR company

Raheem Sterling: Manchester City star left ‘fuming’ after England captaincy gaffe from PR company
Raheem Sterling woke up ‘fuming’ after a PR company connected to him claimed he would captain England in their Nations League semi-final against Holland on Thursday night.A press release, issued on behalf of Colossal Sports Management, circulated late on Tuesday evening which suggested the Manchester City forward would lead out the Three Lions to mark the occasion of his 50th cap.Getty Images - Getty2

Raheem Sterling was left ‘fuming’ after a PR company connected to his management team declared he’d be captaining England against Holland

There was no official confirmation from the Football Association at the time, while manager Gareth Southgate remained tight-lipped over who would wear the armband when he addressed the media on the eve of the Holland clash.The press release, drafted by Purple PR, read: “The Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year is set to wear the Captain’s armband for England’s UEFA Nations League semi-final fixture against The Netherlands in Portugal, on Thursday evening, 6th June.”England vs Netherlands: kick off time and live commentaryGetty Images - Getty2

Gareth Southgate refused to answer who would captain his Three Lions side on Thursday evening

But Sterling insisted he knew nothing of the release and had not spoken to anyone, including Southgate, before Tuesday evening – revealing he ‘apologised’ to the England boss when he realised what had happened.“I couldn’t tell you that,” Sterling replied when asked what had prompted the release.“I woke up this morning fuming. I hadn’t had a conversation with Gareth or anyone in my agency, so it was a strange one to wake up to.“The first thing I did after I came off the phone to my agent was see Gareth down the hallway, and I apologised to him for what had happened. I don’t know where that’s come from.”  Southgate would not be drawn on who would captain his side in Guimaraes, given there are fitness concerns over regular skipper Harry Kane.The Tottenham forward appeared jaded as he made his first start for seven weeks in Saturday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool.Southgate refused to rule Kane out of the contest against the Dutch and would not give away any of his team selection in advance so as not to give Holland boss Ronald Koeman an advantage.“If I confirm anything about the team other than that Raheem is playing, I’m doing half of Ronald’s job for him,” he said.

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...

• Netherlands vs England (Thursday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT
• France vs South Korea (Friday, 8pm) talkSPORT
• Denmark vs Republic of Ireland (Friday, 7:45pm) talkSPORT 2
• Croatia vs Wales (Saturday, 2pm) talkSPORT
• England vs Scotland (Sunday, 5pm) talkSPORT

“I don’t want to discuss the captaincy. Harry Kane is our captain. If he doesn’t play, then I have a decision to make. I’m not prepared to say whether Harry Kane is playing tomorrow.”While the decision is Southgate’s to make, Sterling – who will collect his 50th cap at the age of 24 – said he would be proud to captain his country at some point.“That’s something that’s down to the manager, not for me to decide,” he said.“But if the manager did do that, it’s something I’d be proud and happy to do for sure. That’s up to the manager.”

---

Unified heavyweight king Anthony Joshua met Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo while on holiday in Dubai this week. Boxing's WBA, IBF and WBO world champion took a couple of snaps with football's multiple-time English, Spanish and European champion during a New Year's break in the UAE.
Cristiano Ronaldo meets legendary boxer Anthony Joshua in Dubai

---

FA Cup: Premier League managers disrespect the competition by making so many changes, says Vinnie Jones Leicester crashed out of the Cup after making seven changes and losing to League Two side
FA Cup: Premier League managers disrespect the competition by

---

A quartet of Premier League superstars will wear specially designed adidas boots based on the hit computer game 'Anthem'. Erik Lamela, Jesse Lingard, Kasper Schmeichel, and Felipe Anderson
Anthem: Premier League stars Jesse Lingard and Erik Lamela to

---

And the FA welcomed the news, saying in a statement: "On Monday evening, England players were subjected to abhorrent racist chanting while playing in a Uefa Euro 2020 qualifier in Montenegro. This
Southgate condemns racism as UEFA charges Montenegro

---

Adam Johnson: Former Sunderland and Manchester City forward issues apology following release from prison remorseful The 31-year-old, who made 12 appearances for England, was released from prison last month after serving three years for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old
Former Sunderland player Adam Johnson released from prison

---

Liverpool news: Jurgen Klopp hopeful Virgil van Dijk will be fit to face Leicester City. The 27-year-old has been an ever present in the league for the Reds this season and would be a huge blow if
Liverpool vs Leicester preview: Jurgen Klopp hopeful on

---

Liverpool news: Jordan Henderson says he will play centre-back against Bayern Munich if necessary The Reds are without Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren for the Champions League last-16 showdown at
Liverpool news: Fabinho set to play centre-back vs Bayern

---

It doesn't help having Granit Xhaka in central midfield Every Premier League team's best foreign player ever. Capoue is perhaps the most underrated player in the division: his 6.1
Premier League preseason power rankings | FOX Sports

---

Find Manchester United vs Bournemouth result on Yahoo Sports. View full match commentary including video highlights, news, team line-ups, player ratings, stats and more.
AFC Bournemouth v Manchester United Match Report - goal.com

---

Manchester United news: Steven Gerrard believes VAR prevented

---

Everton boss Marco Silva responds to Watford striker Troy Deeney's pre-match vow. Watford striker vowed to "kick the sh*t" out of Everton players
Watford transfer news: Marco Silva reveals how he persuaded

---

EDEN HAZARD shirts have been spotted in Real Madrid's official store ahead of the Chelsea star's big-money move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Eden Hazard Shirts Are Now On Sale In Real Madrids Club Store
yourhotnews.org/2019/06/07/eden-hazard-shirts-are-now-on-sale-in-real-madrids-club-store-at-the-bernabeu/
Eden Hazard shirts have been spotted at Real Madrid's mega store. The Chelsea star is set to complete an initial £88 million transfer to Real Madrid with an official announcement imminent as he calls time on his seven-year spell in England.
Eden Hazard Chelsea Jersey Sold Direct on eBay | Fantastic Prices on Eden Hazard Chelsea Jersey
AD

---

Manchester United news: Monaco 'paid £3.5million for ghost

---

David Silva is set to leave Manchester City at the end of next season, according to reports.. The 33-year-old is expected to run down his contract at the Etihad and finish his career at boyhood club Las Palmas in Spain.
David Silva 'set to leave Manchester City at the end of next

---

The curious case of Dembele. One of their new stars has so far failed to light up the Camp Nou. Ousmane Dembele was restricted to only 17 La Liga appearances last season - largely due to
'Manchester United are considering Onana with the departure

---