Former Manchester United striker shocked by Chelseaβs treatment of Raheem Sterling
Former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham is shocked by Chelseaβs treatment of Raheem Sterling.
The treble-winner suggested that Chelsea have shown the England international a huge lack of respect by overlooking him in matchday squads and aimed a dig at the club by claiming that being transfer-listed may be a blessing in disguise.
βI was so shocked to see what has happened to Raheem Sterling at Chelsea,β Sheringham told Prime Casino.
βIt would have been hard for him to stomach too. Heβs been a top player throughout his career, especially at Liverpool and Manchester City. Heβs been a top player for England over the years. For this to happen to him, for him to be cast off and unwanted, at his age, coming into his prime, it just doesnβt make sense. These are the years where he should be performing at his best. 29-32 are often your best years as a professional footballer, because youβre experienced, youβre fit and youβre confident.
βFor him to be sidelined like thisβ¦Wow! It shouldnβt be happening to him at this stage of his career after what heβs achieved in the game.β
Sheringham believes Sterlingβs best option is to get away from the circus that is Chelsea Football Club.
βHe showed his best form under Pep Guardiola,β the former United striker added. βI think playing for a manager in such a steady and structured environment has been a big loss for him since he moved to Chelsea. Nobody knows what is going to happen at Chelsea from one day to the next, itβs a circus over there. You canβt believe what goes on at that club. The turnover of players and managers at that club is ridiculous. Itβs not an environment that helps players deliver their best performances. Perhaps leaving would be a blessing in disguise for him. Perhaps playing in a settled environment with good structure is what he needs next.β
How Chelsea is being run β as a football club β baffles the best of us, but itβs also a concern for their supporters who fear for where the club will be in 5-10 years.
Sterling has been linked with a shock move to Manchester United in the lead up to transfer deadline day, in a deal that could see Jadon Sancho move the other way.
Sheringham also shared his own experiences of players being transfer-listed and the likely goings on and behind-the-scenes bickering between Sterlingβs camp and Chelsea.
He added: βIβve been around similar situations before. A footballer getting forced out of a club isnβt anything new, itβs something youβll see plenty of times during your professional career. What happens next with Sterling? Does he dig in or does he move on? That will all depend on him and his mentality. Iβve known players that have been in the same situation and have said: βPay me up and Iβll leave, otherwise Iβm not going anywhere.β Iβve seen players do it the other way, players that have felt so disrespected by the club and its owners or the manager, that they canβt wait to get out of their as quickly as possible. This is probably a decision that has come from the top of the club and Maresca has been told by the owners to make Sterling feel very, very unwanted. Football is a law unto itself in these situations. Itβs horrible to watch and I have lots of sympathy for Raheem Sterling because Iβve been in and around dressing rooms where this happens, and you know how much it will have affected the player. If he sat on his contract, it would hurt the owners. It would hurt the club. This is one of those situations where everyone is showing a poker face. Iβm sure there will be some kind of agreement brokered because itβs not good for Sterling to waste the best years of his career not playing, and itβs not good for the club to be paying a player Β£350,000 a week that they donβt want to keep. I donβt know Raheem well enough to say confidently what he will chose to do. He hasnβt done anything wrong at Chelsea, he signed a deal that the club gave him. Theyβll be all kinds of skullduggery happening behind the scenes to resolve this, but Iβm standing with the player here.β
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