The bad news for Raheem Sterling and his agent is this- the English winger has no received no public backing from his manager at Chelsea FC. The good news for Sterling and his reps- there’s two weeks left in the transfer window to find him a new home.
Sterling, who moved to Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022 for a fee of £47.5 million, was entirely left out of the squad that lost 2-0 to his former team today.
This led his representation to issue a public statement calling for “clarity” on his role at the club.
Enzo Maresca, just beginning his first season at the helm of Chelsea, said he would like to keep Sterling around, but provided no assurances that the player will have a role at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca said that Sterling was left out of the squad for tactical reasons only, and that things will inevitably happen, when you have a roster this big.
Let’s start with that statement from Sterling’s camp, whichs reads: “Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years.
“He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.
“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.
“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.
“Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”
To which Maresca responded: “The manager has to make some decisions. Sometimes players don’t like it, that’s normal. Just a technical decision, no more than that. With Raheem, we will clarify in the next days.”
Sterling, who moved to Man City from Liverpool in 2015 for a fee £49, only did so after a very ugly holdout. So he has a history of demanding what he wants and making his opinion known in order to get it.
On the other hand, he is also a very talented and tremendously accomplished player, so he deserves to have significant role, no matter where he is playing.
He’ll find no shortage of potential suitors.
As for Maresca, he has a huge challenge on his hand. Owner Todd Boehly has needlessly bloated the roster, and there are certainly plenty of other players who feel like Sterling does.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.