Sterling slammed for ‘absolutely rubbish’ Chelsea statement

Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling has been criticised for releasing a statement after he was not picked for the club’s Premier League opener against Manchester City.

Enzo Maresca’s first competitive match in charge of Chelsea ended in a 2-0 loss, with Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic on target for the champions at Stamford Bridge.

Sterling was a notable absentee from the squad list, with transfer speculation having followed him all summer.

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His decision to release a statement indicating his unhappiness with Maresca’s decision, however, has been met with disbelief.

“Raheem and his team know exactly what they’re doing. They’re trying to make noise,” Micah Richards told Sky Sports.

“The thing is with Chelsea already, there is a lot of noise around the club, everyone is talking about the players, everyone is talking the ownership, or can we even guess Chelsea’s starting elven. Putting that statement out before the game is not good enough.

“That is not going to help your team-mates or your case for getting back in the team.”

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Jamie Redknapp added: ““He must have initiated it. He’s said he’s comeback two weeks early – no need to talk about it, just get on with it, play better.

“He hasn’t been great since he’s been at Chelsea. He hasn’t been good enough, so if the manager doesn’t want to play you, you just get on with it.

“I think that is absolute rubbish. He’s got to do better than that, his representatives have got to do better than that. I think that is a really poor statement.

“There are 30 other players that could be putting statements out. It’s your opinion, if you think you’ve been doing well at pre-season, just keep doing better. The manager’s opinion is the only one that matters.”

What did Sterling say?

Sterling’s representatives released a statement expressing surprise he was not picked to play for Chelsea against Manchester City.

“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,” it said.

“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.”

Chelsea manager Maresca said after the game that he had not seen anything: “I was focused on the game. It was a tactical decision and nothing more than that.”