Ballon d'Or 2019: Top 10 Contenders for the Award at the start of May 2019

#6 Raheem Sterling (England, Manchester City)

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg

The Englishman has been one of the players of the season in the Premier League and his scintillating form has ensured that Manchester City are within inches of successfully defending their Premier League crown. Sterling has kicked onto a higher gear since a stellar showing in the World Cup last summer and has added a goal scoring edge to his game.

Sterling has never been among the final 30 shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, but people tend to forget that he is only 24 years old right now. This season, following his brilliant form, the Englishman has already been voted as both the Football Writer's Association Player of the Year as well as the Professional Footballer's Association Young Player of the Year. As such, it is only fair that Sterling is among the top ten contenders for the 2019 Ballon d'Or at the start of May.

The Englishman has scored 23 goals from 45 games in all competitions for Manchester City this season and has picked up a further 12 assists too.

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Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Mustafa Ismail