'Sometimes you have to rub your eyes' - Raheem Sterling offered to shock club after Chelsea exit as club chief admits 'it didn't seem serious'

Sterling is on the hunt for a new club after his exit from Chelsea, which was confirmed last week. The former England international has struggled immensely for minutes over the past few seasons; he did play 31 times in the Premier League in 2023/24 but was loaned to Arsenal in 24/25 and found it incredibly difficult to force his way into Mikel Arteta's plans. He played 17 times in the league but made just seven starts, and was subsequently relegated to Chelsea's 'bomb squad'. 

Enzo Maresca explained his exiling, telling reporters:  "My father is 75 years old and for 50 years he has been a fisherman, working from 2 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock in the morning. This is hard in life, not a player, the way they work.

"I have been in Raheem and Axel’s situation as a player. For sure, I know it is not the best feeling for a player because you want to train, you want to play a game. For different reasons, the situation is the situation. I know that the club is giving them the opportunity to work in the right way.

"It is not just Chelsea, it’s any club in the world. I can promise you Italy, Spain, England, France, USA, Brazil. When for any reason the club and player doesn’t find a solution, you give the player all the tools to do the training session, everything. If you are not involved in the squad, you are not involved in the squad."

Now, Union Berlin have revealed that they were offered the chance to sign Sterling, but did not take the proposal seriously. The winger was reported to be earning over £300,000-per-week at Stamford Bridge and Union are currently ninth in the Bundesliga.

Heldt said: “Sometimes you have to rub your eyes. In this case, it didn’t really seem serious. We didn’t pursue it any further.”

Union have signed big-name players before, bringing in Leonardo Bonucci for the 2023/24 season, but his spell was rather uninspiring. 

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has tipped Sterling to move to an elite club instead of heading to a club, with the best will in the world, of the status of Union Berlin. 

He said:  “As a new chapter awaits Raheem Sterling. An unceremonious Chelsea exit should not overshadow the fantastic achievements of his story so far.

“Sterling is blessed and cursed by the memories of him bursting onto the scene as a teenage superstar before peaking in his mid-twenties. He set the bar so high that this moment in his career inevitably feels like an anti-climax.

“Sterling’s successes outweigh any recency bias amid headlines about Chelsea “bomb squads” and the termination of a reported £310,000-a-week salary. 

“By any measure, he is one of the best English players of his generation. When discussing his career, the focus should be on the thrill of his initial impact as a prodigy before maturing to fulfil his talent under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. He has won 10 major trophies, 82 England caps, scored 194 goals and was named the 2019 Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.”

He added: “I can speak honestly as a former team-mate that when it comes to his attitude to training and a desire to perform on the pitch, Sterling is up there with the most respected.

“Wherever he goes and whatever he does from here, Sterling is searching for a new club armed with one of the most decorated CVs of any free agent in football history. Hopefully, a fitting finale beckons.”

Sterling is continuing to hope the phone will ring as he looks for a fitting swansong. He is still only 31 and has 82 England caps to his name.