Yeah, I don't like either Sterling or Bale really, especially not kick and run merchant Bale who made a career out of running fast in straight lines and long shots after being invisible for most games but I think prime Robben on a lot of his days was as good a wide forward as anyone in the world not named Messi. He is extremely underrated and really never gets the credit he deserves. I said Real Madrid made a mistake when they turfed him out and I stand by it to this day. He's one of the best wide forwards of all time. He could tear teams apart on his own with his dribbling and skill in a way I have only really seen from Messi and Neymar in this generation. Maybe Salah too. Of course guys like Silva, Iniesta and De Bruyne could do the same thing in a different style with their passing and playmaking.
Robben is clearly infinitely better than Sterling and Bale. I don't know how anyone could watch those two play and think they're as good as Robben. There's a very very apparent gap in quality there that I find easy to spot. Robben was a far better dribbler than both, especially in tight spaces, a much cleaner striker of a football than Sterling, much better technically than both, as fast as Bale and maybe even faster than Sterling, and is underrated in link up play due to an unfair reputation of constantly being 'greedy'. Are people comparing them? Shows how underrated Robben is. He should be compared to Messi and Ronaldo, not Sterling and Bale. Ribery is underrated too. Di Maria was wonderful at Real Madrid too until Old Trafford buried his club career.
Love Robben. So my type of player. I actually think he was even better at his best and more talented than Ronaldo (just less of a goalscorer, but he had more X Factor and jaw dropping get you out of your seat moments) but I realise that is a minority opinion. If I had to choose to watch prime Ronaldo or prime Robben, it would be the latter every single time.
Messi is obviously another story. He's out on his own as by far the best player of his generation.
But don't fret. City are a team and not choc a block with superstars, they're a cohesive unit, so even though Sterling is nowhere near as good as these guys, he's still a decent enough player who suits your system well and can make a contribution to a title winning side, as he has in the past.