Former Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham is shocked by Chelsea’s treatment of Raheem Sterling.
The treble-winner suggested that Chelsea have shown the England international a huge lack of respect by overlooking him in matchday squads and aimed a dig at the club by claiming that being transfer-listed may be a blessing in disguise.
“I was so shocked to see what has happened to Raheem Sterling at Chelsea,” Sheringham told Prime Casino.
“It would have been hard for him to stomach too. He’s been a top player throughout his career, especially at Liverpool and Manchester City. He’s been a top player for England over the years. For this to happen to him, for him to be cast off and unwanted, at his age, coming into his prime, it just doesn’t make sense. These are the years where he should be performing at his best. 29-32 are often your best years as a professional footballer, because you’re experienced, you’re fit and you’re confident.
“For him to be sidelined like this…Wow! It shouldn’t be happening to him at this stage of his career after what he’s achieved in the game.”
Sheringham believes Sterling’s best option is to get away from the circus that is Chelsea Football Club.
“He showed his best form under Pep Guardiola,” the former United striker added. “I think playing for a manager in such a steady and structured environment has been a big loss for him since he moved to Chelsea. Nobody knows what is going to happen at Chelsea from one day to the next, it’s a circus over there. You can’t believe what goes on at that club. The turnover of players and managers at that club is ridiculous. It’s not an environment that helps players deliver their best performances. Perhaps leaving would be a blessing in disguise for him. Perhaps playing in a settled environment with good structure is what he needs next.”
How Chelsea is being run – as a football club – baffles the best of us, but it’s also a concern for their supporters who fear for where the club will be in 5-10 years.
Sterling has been linked with a shock move to Manchester United in the lead up to transfer deadline day, in a deal that could see Jadon Sancho move the other way.
Sheringham also shared his own experiences of players being transfer-listed and the likely goings on and behind-the-scenes bickering between Sterling’s camp and Chelsea.
He added: “I’ve been around similar situations before. A footballer getting forced out of a club isn’t anything new, it’s something you’ll see plenty of times during your professional career. What happens next with Sterling? Does he dig in or does he move on? That will all depend on him and his mentality. I’ve known players that have been in the same situation and have said: “Pay me up and I’ll leave, otherwise I’m not going anywhere.” I’ve seen players do it the other way, players that have felt so disrespected by the club and its owners or the manager, that they can’t wait to get out of their as quickly as possible. This is probably a decision that has come from the top of the club and Maresca has been told by the owners to make Sterling feel very, very unwanted. Football is a law unto itself in these situations. It’s horrible to watch and I have lots of sympathy for Raheem Sterling because I’ve been in and around dressing rooms where this happens, and you know how much it will have affected the player. If he sat on his contract, it would hurt the owners. It would hurt the club. This is one of those situations where everyone is showing a poker face. I’m sure there will be some kind of agreement brokered because it’s not good for Sterling to waste the best years of his career not playing, and it’s not good for the club to be paying a player £350,000 a week that they don’t want to keep. I don’t know Raheem well enough to say confidently what he will chose to do. He hasn’t done anything wrong at Chelsea, he signed a deal that the club gave him. They’ll be all kinds of skullduggery happening behind the scenes to resolve this, but I’m standing with the player here.”
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