At 28 years old, Raheem Sterling is arguably in the prime of his career. He currently plays for Chelsea FC and the English national team after racking up over $100 million in transfer fees across his career. Like many celebrities, it looks as though Sterling has turned his hand to BJJ which shows just how mainstream it has become.
In the image below, Sterling can be seen wearing a blue gi and white belt with two white belts. This photo was from the Camberley Judo Club which is home to commonwealth medalists in the sport. Not only this – but Sterling also took part in hill sprints with the team in a bid to improve his fitness for the Premier League season.
Being a professional athlete, you’d expect Sterling to have a naturally good base for BJJ and Judo due to excelling in cardio, balance and other attributes for the aforementioned arts. Having said this, as he is worth so much money and needs to be in peak shape, you’d also have to question exactly why he’s training BJJ and Judo due to their intensity when it comes to taking hits to the body. So, perhaps this is a hobby he should save for after retirement!
Based on this, it may have been that Sterling mostly took part in drills rather than live sparring which would make sense considering his profession. Interestingly, he isn’t the first footballer to turn to BJJ either, as ex-World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
