New Chelsea striker Raheem Sterling has revealed he joined the London club because he didn’t want to “waste time” on the bench at his former club Manchester City.
The England international said during his media appearance on Thursday as a new Chelsea player: “I felt like I wasn’t playing enough for Manchester City for various reasons. I couldn’t afford to spend more time and so I had to maintain my level and face a new challenge in my career.”
“I’ve been a regular starter since I was 17, so reaching the peak of my career and not playing all the time is something I can’t live with,” Sterling added.
Sterling’s playing time for Manchester City has been reduced in the past two seasons by the lustrous condition of young winger Phil Foden and then by the arrival of fellow winger Jack Grealish.
Sterling, who played for Liverpool between 2012 and 2015, has won the English Premier League four times with Manchester City in the past five seasons, in addition to five other local titles in the local cup and league cup, and scored 131 goals in 337 games during his time at City.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is hopeful that Sterling will continue to score goals, especially after Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was loaned to Inter and German striker Timo Werner returned to his former side Leipzig.
Chelsea will face neighbors Tottenham Hotspur in a fiery showdown next Sunday in the second round of the local league, knowing the two teams started the season by winning last week in the first round.
Source: agencies