Striking pictures show the three-bedroom bungalow Raheem Sterling lived in as a child

Striking images of Raheem Sterling’s palatial mansion show his world today could not be further apart from that of his childhood.

Now owning the plush property in Kingston, Jamaica, his opulent residence is a far-cry from the humble surroundings of his childhood home.

Pictures show the bungalow, where he was raised by his grandmother, is now only partially constructed and has no windows on the top floor.

The star lived in the three-bedroom home with up to eight relatives at a time, until reaching the age of five and moving to London.

Raheem Sterling’s sprawling mansion in Jamaica’s capital could not be further away from the cramped conditions of his childhood home  

The footballing ace used to live with up to eight family members inside a three-bedroom bungalow in one of Jamaica's most crime-ridden areas 

The footballing ace used to live with up to eight family members inside a three-bedroom bungalow in one of Jamaica’s most crime-ridden areas 

But his youth was marred by gruelling hardship in Maverley — one of Kingston’s most violent slums.  

As a child, Sterling was rapidly showing his footballing potential – but would have to stop playing when the gunshots rang out across Maverley.

Today the footballing ace is surrounded by statues and ornamental fittings in the comfort of his sprawling mansion – for which he is thought to have paid £1million. 

He also owns a £3million mansion in Cheshire and was reported to be eyeing another in Marbella.  

Sterling, 23, sparked outrage when he unveiled a tattoo of a machine gun on his leg, which he said was inspired by the killing of his father, Phillip Slayter.

The Manchester City ace sparked outrage when he appeared with a tattoo of an M16 assault rifle on his leg, which anti-gun campaigners branded ‘sick’

Sterling is today surrounded by statues and ornamental fittings in the comfort of his sprawling mansion - for which he is thought to have paid £1million

Sterling is today surrounded by statues and ornamental fittings in the comfort of his sprawling mansion – for which he is thought to have paid £1million

Sterling said the new tattoo reflected a vow he made to 'never touch a gun' after the trauma of losing his father.

Sterling said the new tattoo reflected a vow he made to ‘never touch a gun’ after the trauma of losing his father.

Mr Slayter was 29 when he was shot multiple times while crossing a ‘gang border’ in 1996.

He was said to be ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’, and his case has never been solved, The Times reported.

Sterling said the new tattoo reflected a vow he made to ‘never touch a gun’ after the trauma of losing his father.

His grandmother, Joy, previously told The Sun that Sterling’s mother decided to move the family to London to build a better life.

She said: ‘His life hasn’t been easy. It was a tough place to grow up and he had to be sharp. 

‘He used to kick a juice carton around. Football was clearly his big love. When he wasn’t playing he was watching it. The land at the front of the house was turned in to a pitch and all the boys used to play there.’

The design of an M16 assault rifle was shared with his 3.6million Instagram followers just weeks before Sterling heads for the World Cup with England

The design of an M16 assault rifle was shared with his 3.6million Instagram followers just weeks before Sterling heads for the World Cup with England

Sterling was forced to defend his new tattoo of an assault rifle after anti-gun campaigners branded it ‘sick’.

The design of an M16 assault rifle was shared with his 3.6million Instagram followers just weeks before Sterling heads for the World Cup with England.

He was also pictured with the tattoo while training with England at St George’s Park in Staffordshire ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

Lucy Cope, of Mothers Against Guns, said it was ‘sickening’ that he was showing off the inking to his followers.

Iffat Rizvi, of the Starr anti-gun campaign, said: ‘This is disrespectful to young people who lost their lives. How can he do this in the current climate of gang violence?’

But Sterling wrote on Instagram: ‘When I was two, my father died from being gunned down to death. I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my lifetime.

‘I shoot with my right foot so it has a deeper meaning and is still unfinished.’



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