Chelsea neglect to wish Raheem Sterling a Happy Birthday on any of their social platforms as England international remains exiled from Enzo Maresca's squad

Sterling has suffered a humbling fall from grace in recent times. Back in 2019, he netted an 11-minute hat-trick for Manchester City in a Champions League clash with Atalanta. Giovanni Sartori, technical director of the Italian opposition faced that day, told Sterling after a stunning performance that he was “the best player in the world”.

Fast forward six years and Chelsea are preparing to line up against the same Serie A outfit. This time around, there will be no role for Sterling to play. That is because he has been left out of Premier League and European squads in 2025-26.

The Blues appear to have forgotten all about the 82-cap England winger. His latest birthday, which was celebrated on December 8, was recognised by the Three Lions and his former club City. Sterling’s current domestic employers chose to overlook that occasion.

Sterling faces an uncomfortable present and unpredictable future. His £50 million ($67m) transfer to Chelsea in 2022 has not played out as anybody had hoped. He has registered just 19 goals for the Blues through 81 appearances, with his last competitive outing for the club coming on May 19, 2024.

Last season was spent out on loan at Arsenal, with no Premier League goals being recorded there. It came as little surprise when a purchase option was not taken up by the Gunners. Sterling was forced back to Stamford Bridge and into the shadows.

He will be watching on from afar in midweek as Champions League action takes centre stage. Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney are the only fellow Englishmen to have registered more goals than Sterling in elite continental competition. He may not get another chance to bolster that tally.

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Maresca has said that “anything can happen” when it comes to the likes of Sterling and other exiled first-team stars being welcomed back into the fold at Chelsea. The expectation is, however, that game time will need to be found elsewhere.

The Telegraph reports on how Sterling’s former City team-mate Vincent Kompany called him late in the summer window to gauge interest in a loan move to Bayern Munich. It is claimed that Sterling would have agreed a permanent switch, with a two-year contract being promised, but was reluctant to leave his homeland on a short-term deal that included no guarantees.

Sterling is still training at Chelsea, either on his own or with the club’s U21 squad, but is being denied the opportunity to step onto the field. As a result, he is having to find alternative ways to fill time and keep himself amused.

The Telegraph says Sterling has “kept his passion for football alive through his children and his academy over the past six months”. He is said to be a regular at Arsenal academy matches, with eight-year-old son Thiago on the books in north London.

There are still 18 months left to run on Sterling’s contract at Chelsea. That deal is said to be worth more than £300,000-a-week. Said terms are considered to have been a barrier when sounding out interest in recent transfer markets. The Telegraph claims “there has never been a conversation about renegotiating his contract at a reduced rate or simply cutting his salary” at Stamford Bridge.

A wage cut may have to be agreed, though, in order to find a much-needed fresh start. Sterling needs to be playing at this stage of his career, with sporting ambition being ranked about financial gain. He has seen a move to join Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac at ambitious Championship side Wrexham mooted, but a switch to North Wales is considered to be unlikely.