Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has leapt to Raheem Sterling's defence after the England international was pictured sporting a gun tattoo.

Photographs of the Man City winger taking part in a training session with the Three Lions this week showed an assault rifle inked on his lower leg.

The tattoo has been dubbed inappropriate by anti-gun groups and some tabloid newspapers, but Sterling explained on social media that the image is part of an unfinished design paying tribute to his late father, who died in a shooting.

"I don't know why the people treat him like that," Man City teammate and Brazil international Fernandinho told Sky Sports News on Thursday.

"They write about him and you can see some pursue it against him. He's a lovely guy, nice guy, and every day he's up, he's happy, and I'm so glad to share the dressing room with him.

"I'm glad because we have him. He's a lovely guy and he never gives up, even with a lot of criticism about him and his football. He's one of our top players. He decided so many games for us this season and was so important for us.

Sterling was instrumental as Man City cruised to the Premier League title last season, scoring 18 goals and registering 11 assists for Pep Guardiola's side.