Daily Mail
- Raheem Sterling has spoken on the factors that decided his move to Chelsea
- The England international said ‘limited playing time’ forced him out of Man City
- Sterling insists that he ‘wouldn’t accept’ sitting on the bench at the Etihad
- The 27-year-old secured a £47.5million move to Stamford Bridge in July
Raheem Sterling has pledged to be an outspoken leader at Chelsea, after returning to home city London as a ‘grown adult’.
The 27-year-old is back living in London for the first time in more than 10 years, after majorly successful stints with Liverpool and Manchester City.
Sterling revealed his £47.5million Chelsea switch revolved around his refusal to accept limited playing time at Manchester City approaching the peak of his career.
‘The move came about, like anything as a person you strive to achieve, and I just felt my time at City was getting limited on playing time for different reasons,’ said Sterling.
‘I couldn’t afford to waste that time. So I needed to keep that same level and a fresh challenge. It’s something that since 17 I’d been a regular starting, so to get to a peak time in my career, not to play regularly is something I wouldn’t accept.
‘My personality is to try to fight and change the scenario, but it didn’t happen and that’s it. This was the option that was tailor-made to my personal goals, and with my family as well and the direction the club is going in.
‘It’s a team that’s competing and only going to get better. With the new ownership as well, it made a lot of sense. It was tough of course with the time I spent at City and there’s lots of memories and top moments.
‘But the year and a bit that I was in and out of the team taught me a lot about myself, made me value a lot of things and I tried to get things in order.
‘It was a difficult decision but you have to make the decision that’s best for yourself…
