“It was a massive surprise.”
Like all great managers Pep Guardiola isn’t afraid to make tough choices for the betterment of the team, even if they don’t appear to make sense from the outside looking in.
Raheem Sterling has been a key part of the Guardiola era at Man City, playing regularly and having a huge role in their trophy raid of the last few seasons.
However, for reasons unknown to the public the Spaniard chose not to use his English winger as frequently, opting to keep him on the bench more often that not.
With playing time dramatically cut down, Sterling made the choice to transfer to Chelsea and in his interview with the Independent, explains why.
“It was a big surprise. It was a massive surprise … a change of events all of a sudden. It’s something I had to handle and that’s why I’m here.
“Me and the manager and the people at the club know exactly what the reasons were. I tried to play my football and overcome the situation but it couldn’t be done so I had to move on.
“Since I was 17, I’ve been a regular starter and to get to the peak time in my career, not to be playing regularly was something I wouldn’t accept. My personality is to try to fight and change the scenario but it didn’t come and that was it…
“I got a phone call when I was in Jamaica to say it was heating up (the move to Chelsea). That was when I was aware of the seriousness.
“I felt my game time at [Man] City was getting limited for different reasons and I couldn’t afford to waste more time. When I look back in the future, I never wanted to look back and see a rise then a decline.
“So my feeling was I needed to keep at the same level and a fresh challenge was needed.
