How Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo blocked Sterling to Real Madrid
Karan Tejwani
- 31 Oct 2022 08:20 GMT
- 3 min read
Raheem Sterling left Manchester City for Chelsea earlier this year but things could’ve been very different for him, with a move to Real Madrid a possibility.
The Englishman left the Premier League champions after seven years at the club after it was reported that he had disagreements, opening the door for a £47.5 million move for him.
He was convinced that Chelsea was the right step in his career by Thomas Tuchel, who has since been sacked by the club and was replaced by Graham Potter.
READ: Chelsea star 'didn't look happy' with Potter, Thierry Henry claims
However, he could well have been at Real Madrid had certain things worked out in his favour, such as La Liga rules on signing players from outside the European Union.
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According to Spanish outlet AS, the Spanish and European champions were offered the chance to sign Sterling after he had spent seven years at the Etihad Stadium.
Carlo Ancelotti was open to the idea of bringing Sterling over to the Santiago Bernabeu, but was unable to do so as Eder Militao, Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo were occupying the non-EU spots at the club.
READ: Chelsea's Raheem Sterling 'fuming' over Man City exit
It was also an issue for Gabriel Jesus, who was of interest to Real Madrid, but had to move to from Manchester City to Arsenal instead as they couldn’t accommodate more non-EU players in their squad.
Since that time, Real Madrid’s three Brazilians have all been handed Spanish citizenship, freeing up three spaces and serving as a blow to those who missed out.
🏴 Raheem Sterling
🇺🇦 Oleksandr Zinchenko
🇧🇷 Gabriel Jesus
Pep Guardiola doesn’t regret allowing the trio to leave for rivals as he believes they did so much for Manchester City that they deserved to make that decision. pic.twitter.com/yRWTbLjOl8— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 29, 2022
It’s expected that Real Madrid will fill up one of those spots soon, as they are frontrunners in the race for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, who could move to Spain next summer.
Additionally, they are targeting a move for Brazilian youngster Endrick in the future, with the Palmeiras teenager impressing with his rise over the last few months.
