Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling has opened the door to a potential departure from the Etihad Stadium.
The 26-year-old has not been a regular starter under manager Pep Guardiola this season and the England international says he would consider leaving the Premier League champions if the right opportunity arises:
“If there was the opportunity to go somewhere else, I would be open to it. At this moment in time, football is the most important thing to me. I have always had something that maybe one day I would love to play abroad and see how I meet that challenge.”
Supporters on Twitter were not particularly sympathetic when they heard Sterling’s comments, with some wanting City to offload him, while others say he should prove himself worthy of a first-team place:
Sell him
— Abraham Aziz💙 (@mancityboy21) October 14, 2021
start preforming then
— Marcel🇵🇱 (@marcelszn) October 14, 2021
Sadly it’s time for him to go
— Ziyad (@Yaya_MCFC) October 14, 2021
Sell him. The sooner the better.
— rbirchall (@rbirchall4) October 14, 2021
— Andre Monroe #21 (@AndreMonroe21) October 14, 2021
He should give us his best then
— #SellMySoul Drops Soon (@ReloadGh1) October 14, 2021
It's time to goooo
— mulwa (@mulmulwasi) October 14, 2021
Good news, he's never gonna bench Jack or Phil. #SterlingOut
— Abimelec Ortega (@abimelec_mcfc) October 14, 2021
well sorry but he's not getting in over Mahrez, Foden, Grealish and now Jesus it's sad but he's had his chances
— laura (@jiwanxsol) October 14, 2021
Barcelona have been heavily linked with Sterling in recent months, but it is hard to imagine that the Catalan club would have the funds to finance an offer for the player.
Arsenal are another team who have been regularly mentioned, but Sterling’s comments suggest he would prefer to move away from England. At this stage, there are no real favourites for the winger’s signature, but his future at City is now rather uncertain.