Riyad Mahrez was in a similar position to Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling this summer as his contract was also up next year without a new deal being on the horizon, but he could be committing his future beyond 2023 while Jesus and Sterling opted to leave.
Mahrez was also a victim of squad rotation (15/38 Premier League starts) like Jesus (21/38 Premier League starts) and Sterling (23/38 Premier League starts) last season, but he’s expected to stay at Manchester City and will be a key player in 2022/23.
The 31-year-old takes home (£120k-per-week/£6.2m-a-year) 40% of the money than Sterling earns (£300k-per-week/£15.6m-a-year) and outperformed (47 games, 24 goals, 9 assists) the England international (47 games, 17 goals, 9 assists) last season, so it makes business sense to retain the former.
Mahrez didn’t have a long list of suitors this summer, likely down to his advancing age, so he was more amenable than Jesus and Sterling. The former Leicester City forward has scored 63 goals with 45 assists from 188 games since making the switch to the Etihad Stadium, so he’s the right horse to back.
Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez can replace Jesus while Jack Grealish can replace Sterling, so Pep Guardiola probably feels he can take the hit.
In other news, Pep Guardiola risks unsettling Man City squad allowing four big summer departures