The England footballer Raheem Sterling is reported to have recently been baptised into the Christian faith.
A video on social media appears to show the 29-year-old committing his life to Christ surrounded by members of his church congregation.
The player, who recently confirmed his loan to Arsenal from Chelsea for the 2024-25 season said he became a Christian after realising he had become distracted by fame and glamour and was chasing the wrong things.
The former Liverpool superstar Raheem Sterling gives his life to God and gets baptised, harvest is plentiful .🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
— Kyakuwa Henry (@KyakuwaHenry1) September 9, 2024
Congratulations to him pic.twitter.com/Yy7mKdCACw
He shared his testimony with those present and said that from a young age he had wanted to make enough money to look after his family:
“I’ve always had a dream to get my mum and my family out of a certain predicament, and I always chased that dream. But along the line, like anything you’re creating habits, you’re creating an ego, chasing what I believe I wanted, which is not really what I wanted.
“As I’m growing, I’m maturing. I could see that I was chasing my ego. I was seeing I was chasing what is really not for me. I was going into different environments, shoots, I was going to certain places and doing certain things and I’m coming to the realisation that I don’t believe this is what I want. I don’t believe this is who I truly am.”
Sterling’s sons, Thiago and Thai, are reported to have been at the service which is believed to have taken place in Jamaica, where Sterling was born.
The video shows the player, dressed in a white t-shirt and trousers, getting into a tank of water and repeating: ”I vow Oh Lord, I offer me until death.” After immersion a gospel choir sang ”Goodbye World” and the player was wrapped in a white towel.
Earlier this year Sterling opened up about his faith saying he was influenced by his mother who was always praying in the house.
There’s been a positive reaction on social media to his baptism, with one post saying:
“He is doing it the right way. He’s putting God first as it should be.”
Sterling is due to make his debut for Arsenal at the weekend.