Sterling wants ‘clarity’ over future after Chelsea squad omission

Raheem Sterling’s Chelsea career has been plunged into doubt, with the player and his representatives left in the dark over his future after he was dropped from the match-day squad for the game against Manchester City.
The 29-year-old featured in all six of Chelsea’s pre-season games under the new head coach, Enzo Maresca, and expected to play against City, his former club, but was not included in the squad for the 2-0 defeat. He was informed of the decision on Friday.
A statement from his representatives, released before the match on Sunday, read: “Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years. He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.
“He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.
“As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation. Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.”
Maresca stressed that the decision was a tactical one but admitted he could not guarantee that Sterling would be at the club once the transfer window closes. Chelsea’s bloated squad includes a plethora of attacking players and several departures are expected before the transfer window closes on August 30 at 11pm.
“I don’t know [if he will be here],” Maresca said. “The only thing I can say is that it is a technical decision, the next day we are going to clarify the situation, but it is nothing more than that. For all the players in this moment, they are Chelsea players. If they are Chelsea players we are going to try to use them.
“I want Raheem Sterling but I want all the 30 players we have, but there is no space for that. So, for some of them, they have to leave. It’s my job to manage these kind of things. I’m here to take decisions. Sometimes player likes [it], sometimes not, but I said already, many times I played football for 20 years, and when you’re training and you don’t play, you are not happy.”
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Sterling was included in the Chelsea squad list in the match-day programme but Conor Gallagher, Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku — who have all been linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge this summer — were omitted. Ben Chilwell, who has had an illness this week, is another who could leave before the window closes, while Maresca suggested that a loan move could benefit Carney Chukwuemeka.
The head coach also defended his decision to name Enzo Fernández as captain, despite the Argentina midfielder recently having to apologise for singing a racist and homophobic song about footballers in France after his nation’s Copa America win. His actions drew widespread criticism, including from his Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana.
“Enzo is one of the captains,” Maresca said. “We have more captains. The reason why is because I can see his team-mates recognise him as a reference, as a captain. I said already, all of us make mistakes. It is important to recognise that he made a mistake.
“I don’t know about you but I did a mistake in the past and I recognised [it]. As a human being if you did a mistake and you recognised you are not going to be punished your whole life.”