Manchester City ready to sell £50m-rated star if contract standoff persists
Raheem Sterling has been instrumental for Manchester City these last two months. After being pushed down the pecking order at the Etihad, the Englishman has bounced back in some style.
The former Liverpool winger has scored 6 goals in his last 10 appearances for the Cityzens, taking his goal tally in the Premier League this season to 7 goals from 19 appearances. This comes after a particularly underwhelming start for the 27-year-old.
Sterling is in the final 18 months of his contract and Daily Star understands that if the Englishman does not renew, he will be sold next summer.
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The source reports that City will be looking to get at least £50 million for Raheem Sterling, should they decide to sell him.
After having reached a verbal agreement with the player last year, things seem to have taken a dramatic turn.
The Three Lions star’s stocks have fallen rapidly in the last 12-18 months. In fact, towards the end of the last season, Sterling was benched for the bigger games and was not relied upon in crunch situations. Moreover, despite being the standout performer for England in Euro 2020, it was not enough for the 27-year-old to book his place in the City XI.
Last summer, Barcelona were said to be interested in signing Sterling. Their interest was concrete which is why Barca sporting director Mateu Alemany was in Manchester in November to negotiate an exit for Sterling. The former La Liga champions though ended up signing Ferran Torres.
The source further understands that Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain would all be interested in signing the former Liverpool man for a sum as low as £50 million.
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It is understood that Sterling has not yet put pen to paper on his new contract because there is practically no guarantee over his place in the XI. With no guarantee of a permanent spot in the XI, Sterling is believed to be having second thoughts about extending his stay at Manchester.
The general consensus at City is that the longer the contract stalemate drags on, the more are the chances of Sterling refusing to sign an extension.
However, if that is the case, Sterling will be placed on the market this summer and it would be interesting to see where the Englishman decides to go.