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– Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has said he “couldn’t afford to waste time” by staying at Manchester City.
– Since 2018-19, the 27-year-old made fewer league starts each season for City, with 23 last term.
– After seven years at City, Sterling wanted a “fresh challenge” and made a £50m move to Chelsea last month.
Also Read: OFFICIAL: Raheem Sterling completes Chelsea move from Man City
– “Since I was 17 I’ve been a regular starter, and to get to the peak in my career, not to be playing regularly was something I wouldn’t accept,” he said.
– “My personality is to try to fight and change the scenario, but it didn’t come and that was it.
– “As a person you strive to achieve, and I just felt my time at City was getting limited on playing time for different reasons.
– “I couldn’t afford to waste that time, so I needed to keep that same level and a fresh challenge.”
– Sterling was signed by Liverpool from the QPR academy in 2010 and became a regular in 2012-13, before a £49m move to City in 2015.
– Sterling won four Premier League titles with City, the League Cup five times and the FA Cup once, but the Champions League eluded them.
– City lost 1-0 to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League final, and although Sterling started that game, he only started five of City’s past 13 knockout games.
– “It does feel like coming home,” he added. “I feel like it’s my full journey – going up to Liverpool and manifesting what I wanted, going to City and living the dream, and now coming back to London as a grown adult.
– “I’ve been in the football game a while now, I’ve got my head on my shoulders and I know exactly what I want from my life and football, so it’s the perfect time to come back and have a new challenge.”
– Since his Premier League debut aged 17 with Liverpool, Sterling has made 469 first-team appearances and earned 77 England caps, and aims to be more of a leader at Chelsea than he was at City.
– “Inside the changing room and at the football club, there’s a developing side of me which I’d like to see a lot more,” he said.
– “That’s to be more involved in decisions in the dressing room, to be more vocal, and try to drive the team on.”
– Sterling was Chelsea’s first major signing since the Todd Boehly-led takeover, which followed the club reaching the final in four of the six cup competitions they played in over the past two seasons.
– “This was the option that was tailor-made to my personal goals, and with my family as well, and the direction the club is going in,” Sterling added.
– “It’s a team that’s competing and only going to get better. With the new ownership as well, it made a lot of sense.
– “It was tough, of course, with the time I spent at City and there’s lots of memories and top moments.
– “But the year and a bit that I was in and out of the team taught me a lot about myself, made me value a lot of things and I tried to get things in order.
– “You have to make the decision that’s best for yourself.”
💬 "I just felt my time at City was getting limited, on playing time"
Raheem Sterling opens up on his reasons behind leaving Manchester City 👇pic.twitter.com/h6tKOwe7Vl
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 11, 2022
