Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is convinced that Raheem Sterling could be the next Cristiano Ronaldo, who is regarded by many as the best football player in the world today.

Sterling said in an interview this past weekend with Liverpool Echo that Sterling is following the same path Ronaldo took before he became a superstar. He said that Sterling is making a big impact in Liverpool and England national soccer team, similar to how Ronaldo made noise when he was a teenager.

"You would argue that at 19, Raheem has had a similar impact," Rodgers said of Sterling. "Ronaldo came to the country as an 18-year-old, and certainly in these last couple of years Raheem has made a similar impact at the beginning of his career."

Rodgers added that Sterling, who has scored three goals in 10 Barclays Premier League matches, should continue working hard in order to reach the next level -- from being one of the best youngsters in the world to a tested superstar for Liverpool.

"It's now about going to those next levels with the second part of his curve," Sterling said. "The first part is coming in and establishing yourself as a young player -- it's not easy earning that respect. Now hopefully he'll move onto the levels."

Rodgers said that Sterling should take a lesson from Ronaldo's rise to stardom. Aside from the way the Real Madrid superstar is making an impact on the patch, the longtime Liverpool manager also admires Ronaldo's persistence, saying that Ronaldo worked hard to reach his current status despite experiencing numerous setbacks.

"What I've loved about Ronaldo is that you talk about persistence in life and professionalism in life," Rodgers said. "This is a guy who turned up for the Ballon d'Or four years on the trot probably thinking on a couple of occasions he's going to be close to winning it. He didn't. But he kept going, kept fighting and then deservedly won it [in 2013]."

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