He is undoubtedly one of the great prodigies of English football of the last decade. Trained at Liverpool, Raheem Sterling demonstrated from his first steps in the Premier League at the age of 17 that he would be one of the future great players of the championship and that he would probably have a huge career. Currently aged 30, the native of Kingston, Jamaica plays for Chelsea. Problem, the right winger no longer plays with the professional group and is completely sidelined by the Blues. A terrible descent into hell which was quite unpredictable for the man who was voted player of the year at the end of a 2018-2019 season which he finished with 17 goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League matches.
Recruited for more than 50 million euros in the summer of 2022 by Chelsea after very high-level seasons at Manchester City, the England international (82 caps, 20 goals) was supposed to embody the renewal of the Blues and be one of the best London players. Ultimately, the adventure at Stamford Bridge did not have the desired effect. Having left just before Manchester City’s incredible treble season, Sterling had a mixed first season with Chelsea, compiling 10 goals and 5 assists in 42 games. Better during the 2023-2024 vintage (10 goals, 11 assists, 43 matches), Sterling finally disappears from the radar in the summer of 2024.
Sterling trains alone at Chelsea
Indeed, with the arrival of Enzo Maresca on the London bench, the 30-year-old striker no longer fits into the Italian coach’s plans. From then on, it was the beginning of the decline. Pushed towards the exit, he joined Arsenal on loan. In a cruel loss of confidence, he struggles to win against the competition among the Gunners and is confined to the bench. As a result, the former Liverpool player had one of the worst seasons of his career with just one goal in 28 matches. The worst, however, arrives with a return to Chelsea in the summer of 2025. Struggling to find a way out due to his significant emoluments (19 million euros gross annually), he finally resigns himself to spending a season in the Blues loft. Unable to score a single goal since May 2024 in the Premier League, Sterling trains alone at Cobham.
In difficulty at 30, the latter risks struggling before finding a solution by the end of his contract in June 2027. His future is certainly not written in the beautiful neighborhoods of London where Maresca has been blunt about his player: “he is a Chelsea player because he has a contract with the club. At the moment he is training separately. The idea is to continue in exactly the same way. I haven’t seen him since the start of the season. If he will play with us again? No.» While Axel Disasi gradually begins to get closer to the professional group of the Blues after having experienced such disillusionment, the situation seems much more complicated for Raheem Sterling who surely imagined himself in another situation at the age of 30… Troubles which are also extra-sporting with a burglary which recently took place at his home while he was present at his home with his wife and children. In short, nothing is currently going well for Raheem Sterling.
