"It's like coming HOME": Sterling on REASONS behind Chelsea move
The England international left Manchester City to take on a new challenge, but why exactly?
Raheem Sterling was the protagonist of one of the moves of the summer, when he left Manchester City to join Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, looking to take a bigger role in a title contender. After seven years and 12 titles, the England international spoke about his feelings for this stage in his career.
Raheem Sterling had playtime among his main reason to move to Chelsea
"I'm excited, I've grown up a bit off the field," said Sterling. The 27-year-old, who had highly successful stints with Liverpool and Manchester City, is now back residing in London for the first time in more than ten years.
"I feel like my whole journey, going up to Liverpool, Manchester, playing at City, and living the dream... now I'm coming back to London as a grown adult. I've been in the football game a while now, I've got my head on my shoulders and I know exactly what I want from my life and football. So it's the perfect time to come back", explained Sterling on his move which centred on his insistence on getting more playing time that he could ever get at Manchester City as he reaches his peak.
"Inside the changing room and at the football club, there's a developing side of me which I'd like to see a lot more, and that's to be more involved in decisions in the dressing room, to be more vocal, and try to drive the team on. I think [Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel] said to me it's my directness, always threatening in behind, not always wanting it in to feet and going in behind. But most importantly it's how I attack the box and with the full-backs that we have here, he said that's the one thing he wants to see a lot more, so that was the conversation there", the 27-year-old explained regarding what his new coach expects of him.
Sterling won four Premier League titles with Manchester City
"The move came about, like anything as a person you strive to achieve, and I just felt my time at City was getting limited on playing time for different reasons", said the forward. Its worth remembering that Raheem Sterling was born in Jamaica but raised in London, first breaking through at the Queens Park Rangers academy before making the jump to Liverpool aged 16. "I couldn't afford to waste that time. So I needed to keep that same level and a fresh challenge. It was a difficult decision but you have to make the decision that's best for yourself. It does feel like coming home, coming back to London; it's been a long time that I've been away, since about 14 or 15".
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