Did Raheem Sterling mean to call Manchester City a “stepping stone”?

Raheem Sterling has opened up about his move from Liverpool to Manchester City.

He tried to be as diplomatic and as measured as possible. He tried to help people understand his thinking. But doing so, he only served to offend his new club. Sterling's antics towards the end of his Anfield career made him pretty unpopular on Merseyside as it seemed he was trying to manufacture a move away from the club. In an interview with Sky Sports, the Englishman broke his silence on the perceptions and abuse that have surrounded him since that transfer to Manchester City. But in the process, he managed to call City a "stepping stone." "The main [comment] on my Instagram is the snake sign - that's the biggest one so far - and someone that loves money, hungry for money," he told Geoff Shreeves. "Realistically, I am trying to improve as a player and that's the most important thing for me and for my development. I just did what I thought was best for my career at that moment in time." Wait for it... "Obviously getting a move to City was a great opportunity for me and a great stepping stone." It gets better. Sterling is just a lad who focuses on football. "I thought to give myself the best chance to progress and do well was to try to stay out of people's TVs and headlines," he said. "I tried to be seen to focus on football and make the right headlines. It's a difficult one because people formed an opinion on me and I can't do anything to change that. "If I came out again and said something else it would probably make the situation a lot worse. Maybe it could have made it better, who knows?" It's not what you didn't do, Raheem.