'As if he's prime CR7!' - Chelsea fans turn on 'completely entitled' Raheem Sterling for 'kicking off' after being left out of Premier League opener vs Man City

New Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca raised eyebrows by leaving Sterling out of his squad to face Manchester City on Sunday. Sterling's camp responded by calling for clarity on the situation and highlighted how the winger had been expected to play against Pep Guardiola's side. Fans have been left unimpressed by the latest development and have called Sterling's attitude into question.

Chelsea fan @jamesdsmitth posted on X:"All that Sterling statement does is show him to be completely entitled, as if he thinks he has a divine right to be in the squad. It’s the first game of the season and he’s kicking off. That’s not someone who wants to give their best for Chelsea. Get him gone."

Another supporter, @CFCDUBois, compared Sterling to Cristiano Ronaldo: "Sterling put out a statement after being left out of the squad as if he’s prime CR7."

Maresca's decision to drop Sterling was hailed by @rhystakes who posted: "Sterling statement reinforces why dropping him is the right decision. What a disgrace thinks he’s bigger than the club."

Another fan, @falsewinger, also criticised Sterling and the timing of his statement: "Sterling's camp has released a statement just MINUTES after he was dropped from the matchday squad. This is on par with that Lukaku interview. Player putting themselves ahead of the club and it shouldn't be accepted. You have all the time in the world but you choose to do this an hour before kickoff and that too on the first matchday of the season?!"

And @Re7ceRevivaI feels axing Sterling is just one of several good calls made by Maresca: "[Conor] Gallagher sold, [Trevor] Chalobah banned, [Ben] Chilwell and Sterling sent home. Maresca actually got rid of all the sh*t players."

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Maresca has said the decision to drop Sterling was purely a "technical" one but there's no doubt it's a big call by the new boss. Sterling's reaction to the decision is also telling and seems to have thrown his future at Stamford Bridge into doubt. Turin giants Juventus have previously been linked with a move for Sterling, but it remains to be seen if they will reignite their interest after the latest developments.

Maresca's next teamsheet should make for interesting reading when Chelsea return to action on Thursday. The Blues take on Swiss side Servette in a Europa Conference League play-off and then face Wolves three days later in the Premier League at Molineux.