In 2015, a then 20-year-old Sterling turned down a £100,000-a-week (over $130,000) contract renewal with the Reds amid rumors he was angling for a way out. Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were all rumored to be interested.
He sat down with the BBC in early April and uttered a line that caught headlines, claiming he doesn't want to be seen as a "money-grabbing 20-year-old."
However, Sterling gave some other quotes in the same interview that reveal why he might have been pushing for loan move to Arsenal instead of remaining frozen out at Chelsea.
"It's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That's all I talk about," Sterling said in the 2015 interview. "I don't talk about how many cars I'm going to drive, how many houses I've got. I just purely want to be the best I can be."
The former England international found himself frozen out of Enzo Maresca's Chelsea side, having not featured in any of their Premier League or Conference League qualifiers so far.
“I am not saying Raheem is not a good player, but I prefer different kinds of wingers,” Maresca said when asked about the player. Sterling currently has three years remaining on his Chelsea day at £300,000-a-week (close to $400,000).
Mikel Arteta assistant coach of Manchester City speaks to Raheem Sterling during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Oxford United and Manchester City
Raheem Sterling (R) and Mikel Arteta worked together at Manchester City for a number of seasons (Image: Getty Images)
A move to Arsenal demonstrates that Sterling is not content to just see out his contract on the Chelsea bench. Instead, he's content putting his ego aside and moving to a lesser role in a strong Arsenal side who will push for titles this year.
Sterling has won practically everything in football outside of the UEFA Champions League: 4x Premier Leagues, 5x League Cups, 1x FA Cup, the 2014 Golden Boy award (while at Liverpool), and the 2018-19 PFA Young Player of the Year.
A move to Arsenal, a team battling for the Premier League title and desperate to get over the line, offered an opportunity to keep adding silverware to his collection.
Sterling also has a strong relationship with Arteta, who was an assistant manager at Manchester City alongside the forward for several seasons.
“My time with Raheem was exceptional," Arteta said recently of Sterling. "We built a really strong relationship together. He was unbelievable at that time. He taught me a lot as well, about individuals, how the players think, how we support them. He is someone I have really strong feelings about"
0 Comments