It’s been three-and-a-half months since Manchester City sold Raheem Sterling to Chelsea, but Pep Guardiola was recently quizzed about why he sanctioned the transfer.
He’s always said he won’t stand in anyone’s way if they want out of City, though he’s rebuffed interest for players before, so Sterling was allowed to join Chelsea after making his feelings known.
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Guardiola told The Athletic: “What (he) gave us, (he) deserves to choose where (he) wants to play. If (he doesn’t) want to go to Chelsea (he) would stay here.
“But if (he) stays here, why do we have to say you cannot be there? Who are we to say to their family you cannot go there? I don’t like it. Thanks to them we are where we are right now.”
Sterling said back in August that he left due to his role in the squad diminishing under Pep. He didn’t enjoy the constant rotating as it would result in him being benched and unable to get a long run of games together.
In his final season at the Etihad Stadium, the 27-year-old scored 17 goals with nine assists from 47 appearances in all competitions. But Sterling missed 11 games (19%) and was an unused substitute seven times in the Premier League.
He amassed 3088/5220 minutes of playing time across the board, so Sterling only played in 59% of the available minutes. In the Champions League quarter-final, he was substituted off in the first leg and benched for the second. And in the semi-final, he played just 28 minutes over two legs. That’s why he left.
Since joining Chelsea, the England international has made 16/17 appearances, scoring four goals with two assists. He’s a regular in the starting eleven and has only been left on the bench once.
In other news, Pep Guardiola told ‘he has got to’ change Man City’s penalty taker
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