Raheem Sterling of Chelsea battles Pervis Estupinan of Brighton in his team's 4-1 away loss in October 2022. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Spanish outlet AS (h/t Metro), European champions Real Madrid wanted to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City before Chelsea eventually did, due to La Liga rules on signing non-EU players.
The Blues paid £47.5m to sign the 27-year-old from City in the summer transfer window. Madrid were willing to match that fee but they could not add to their non-EU quota in the squad, which is already filled with the maximum allowed three players – two from Brazil (Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo) and one from Uruguay (Federico Valverde).
Sterling did make a fine start to life at Stamford Bridge but has stuttered of late. He has been deployed in a number of positions by Graham Potter, including as a wing-back in the last couple of games.
With Chelsea not playing the best football at the moment, the 27-year-old has not been able to influence the game in the final third. He has not scored a goal since doing so against RB Salzburg on September 14 at Stamford Bridge.
His experience and pedigree of delivering in the big moments cannot be questioned though. The Englishman was one of the key reasons behind City’s success in the last five years. He was also one of England’s key players in the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Euros.
Chelsea would be thankful that Real Madrid were thwarted by the La Liga rules, otherwise, there might have been a situation that the player moves to the Spanish captain instead of the English capital.
Although he has not made a glowing start, Sterling has the qualities to come good in due course of time. Potter is one of the best managers in finding the best roles for players. He would need to do that with the 27-year-old soon to get the best out of him.
Chelsea fans would ideally want the Englishman to play in the forward line, rather than starting so deep as a wing-back. Playing as a forward or a winger would play to his strengths, which are taking on defenders and being a menace in the final third.
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