He was a pale shadow of the crowd-pleasing showman widely recognised as the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the greatest player in the world.
Sterling, 24, had a hand in all five goals, including an 11-minute hat-trick, as City romped to a 5-1 Champions League victory over Italian side Atalanta on Tuesday, to take his tally to 12 goals in 13 appearances this season.
Fabien Barthez could be punished after a referee said the Olympique Marseille goalkeeper spat at him during a friendly match.
Troubled AC Milan were held to a goalless draw by AEK Athens
Major world record deals are here.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
The Spanish champions will seek a notable league and European double when they take on Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup final.
Valencia will meet Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup final after a 1-0 aggregate win over Villarreal.
Former England captain Alan Shearer carries the hopes of an entire city when he leads Newcastle United in tonight's UEFA Cup semi-finals against Olympique Marseille.
Gilles Simon's giant-killing spree culminated in a stupendous title win as he humbled second seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets to lift the inaugural Tata Open Maharashtra trophy, in Pune.
The Newcastle United manager praised Gary Speed and Alan Shearer after their goals them a UEFA Cup semi-final place.
The meeting had resumed for a day on Sunday, after being suspended a day earlier due to a failed coup bid in Turkey which claimed over 260 lives.
UEFA believes the 24-team format introduced for the first time at Euro 2016 is a success and will boost soccer in some of the continent's smaller nations, tournament director Martin Kallen said on Tuesday.
The England captain assured himself of a place in the Real Madrid record books on Wednesday by scoring the club's 600th goal in the European Cup.
The Arsenal forward broke the record just five minutes into the match, taking his tally to 38 with his national side at the Kazan Arena, Kazan.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
AC Milan's match against Torino was abandoned as fans clashed.
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday, narrowly edging out Yaya Toure at the Confederation of African Football award ceremony.
The scoreline may have been 1-1, but level-headed Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was unable to prevent the word 'victory' passing his lips as the Nordic side held Portugal at Euro 2016.
Air France pilots went on a four-day strike over pay cuts on Saturday that could disrupt transport plans for football fans on the second day of Europe's soccer championship.
Paris security forces will receive reinforcements to protect fan zones during Euro 2016 soccer matches held in the French capital, the city's police force said on Thursday.
Triple European champions Manchester United and their under-fire coach Louis van Gaal face a tricky task against little-known Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League following Monday's draw.
Paris St Germain continued their irrepressible march towards a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title with a 5-1 home win against Olympique Lyonnais to move 17 points clear at the top.
Security failures highlighted at this weekend's French cup final need to be urgently sorted out before the start of Euro 2016 in three weeks' time, an official in charge of security at France's national football stadium said on Monday.
World champions Germany are to meet Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in Group C.
The Swiss ace claimed his third title of the year by crushing Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the final.
Sweden's larger-than-life captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play his final game for Paris Saint Germain on Saturday, he said in a social media post that is likely to send clubs around the world reaching for their cheque books.
The Wimbledon champion was dumped by the world No. 47 in the second round of the Swiss Indoors.
Champions Paris St Germain provisionally moved back to the top of Ligue 1 as Adam Lang's own goal, Edinson Cavani's penalty and a second-half header from Lucas Moura downed promoted Dijon 3-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Barcelona's rampant trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi all found the net at the weekend and unsung Leicester City found themselves in the record books when their England striker Jamie Vardy scored for the 11th straight game.
Monaco's late Ligue 1 title challenge stalled on Friday when the principality side were held to a 1-1 home draw by St Etienne.
Borussia Dortmund snatched a late goal at Atalanta to progress with a 1-1 draw, while AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, both with three-goal leads from the away legs, completed the formality of qualifying with 1-0 wins at home on Thursday.
It was a fun year. I did a lot of fun things. I got Australia back in the world group of the Davis Cup, won a couple of titles, so it's been a good year so hopefully I can back it up in 2017
The Dutch club are returning to the group phase of the competition for the first time in seven years.
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