Raheem Sterling camp respond to shock Chelsea vs Man City decision amid transfer uncertainty

Raheem Sterling's representatives have released a statement after the 29-year-old was left out of the Chelsea squad to take on Manchester City.

The Blues kick off their Premier League campaign this afternoon at home to the champions and there is no sign of Sterling in the matchday squad. Sterling, who has been with Chelsea since the summer of 2022 after signing from Man City for around £47.5million, featured heavily in pre-season but will not take any part at Stamford Bridge.

Now, his representatives have released a statement. "Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea for the next three years," the statement read. "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.

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"He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC 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 FC 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."

Enzo Maresca has insisted it was a technical decision to leave Sterling out of the squad. Speaking to Sky Sports pre-match, Maresca said: "The manager has to make some decisions. Sometimes players don't like it, that's normal. Just a technical decision, no more than that."

Sterling was told of the decision on Friday, football.london understands. The Chelsea hierarchy are understood to be fully behind Maresca's decision to leave Sterling out of the squad.