Official: Raheem Sterling joins Chelsea from Man City
FT Desk
- 13 Jul 2022 17:07 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester City star Raheem Sterling has officially completed his €56 million transfer to Chelsea.
He has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge until 2027.
Sterling has been at the Etihad Stadium since moving from Liverpool in 2015 and has played a big part in the most successful period in club history under Pep Guardiola.
A star in LA! 🇺🇸#SterlingIsChelsea pic.twitter.com/kgTYEI3ybn
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 13, 2022
But he has found himself squeezed out in City's star-studded squad as of late and decided to seek a fresh start with their Premier League rivals, who adding top talent to their squad after a mediocre 2021-22 season.
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The winger is Chelsea's first confirmed signing of the summer following Todd Boehly's takeover at Stamford Bridge from Roman Abramovich after the Russian and his club found themselves under severe UK government sanctions at the start of the year.
Chelsea will now look to push on and bolster their squad, which has been depleted by the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger in defence and the decision to send Romelu Lukaku back on loan to Inter.
A new start for Sterling
Sterling, 27, has long been an integral piece of the City set-up with his sparkling ability out on the flank.
He made a total of 339 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 131 goals, while also becoming an England regular during his time at the Etihad.
His seven-year stay has also coincided with a golden period at City, who have won four Premier League titles over the same time and a total of 10 major titles while reaching the Champions League final in 2020-21.
There were signs as early as 2020, however, that Sterling may well become expendable at City.
From 31 goals in all competitions during the 2019-20 season his production dropped to just 14, and neither he nor Gabriel Jesus proved capable of matching the strike-rate of departing veteran Sergio Aguero once he left for Barcelona last summer.
In 2021-22 Sterling started just 23 Premier League games as City pipped Liverpool to the title, and following the signings of attacking duo Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez he and Jesus were both made available for sale.
The two attackers will now line up at one of the club's league rivals, after the Brazilian was sold to Arsenal earlier in July.
