Chelsea signed Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in a deal worth over £45 million. The four times Premier League winner with Manchester City became Chelsea’s top earner with a weekly wage of £320,000.
Raheem Sterling made his Premier League debut for Chelsea over the weekends during Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park. The 27-year-old was impressive during his debut despite failing to score his competitive goal for Chelsea.
The English international is expected to make his home (Stamford Bridge ) Bridge on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspurs in a London Derby.
Sterling has admitted Chelsea was the only team that aligned with his personal goals compared to the other clubs he held talks with.
What did Raheem Sterling say?
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his Stamford Bridge debut, the England international explained: “At first, of the options that I had, it was tailor-made for my personal goals.
“For my family, it makes a lot of sense and then of course the direction the club’s going in.
“You look at Chelsea in the last couple of years, it’s four or five finals that they’ve been in, it’s a team that shows that they are competing and they’re only going to get better. So with the new ownership and the takeover, it made a lot of sense.”
The former Manchester City star also revealed that Chelsea is the right place for him to showcase the experienced he had gained and help the young one.
Sterling added: “It’s just one of my traits where, no matter how old you are, I always think it’s good to try to nurture younger people, whatever profession you’re in. You don’t want a hostile environment for them to come into and you always want it to be one they feel like they can flourish in.
“When I was young I had someone like Steven Gerrard around me to look up to as an example. He had his arm around me and it makes you a lot more relaxed so you can do your best. That’s all I ever try to do – have jokes and laugh but at the same time make sure people are getting the work done and feeling comfortable.
“I’m excited by the opportunity to showcase my talents. Now, growing up a bit off the field and inside the changing room, it’s a developing side of me I would like to see a lot more – being more involved in the dressing room, being more vocal, and trying to drive the team on.”
The 27-year-old has also revealed that adopting at Chelsea has become easy because of the presence of National teammates like Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, and Callum Hudson Odoi.
“Knowing the boys from England, they’re a really top bunch of lads, so it made the transition coming here a lot smoother than if you were to go somewhere you don’t know anyone. I literally came in and fit right in, so it was a good transition.
“Pre-season was an up and down one in terms of results and what the manager wanted, but pre-season’s not real. We try to build on that and you can see from the short time we’ve been back at Cobham the energy and the unity of the team.
“That’s probably something you hear all the time, but you can really feel it going into games and I’m really optimistic being here, being in the building and seeing how the guys here work and seeing how passionate the manager is. So I’m really optimistic.
“I was optimistic coming here in the first place. I always set myself goals, so I know what I want to achieve personally, but also what I would like to achieve with the football club, which is most important.”
