Official: Raheem Sterling leaves Chelsea by mutual agreement

Raheem Sterling’s exile at Chelsea is over. Just like his time at Chelsea. The club agreed to buy out the 31-year-old’s contract, which still had 18 months remaining. This is similar to the deal we made with Ross Barkley a few years ago.

The terms of the buyout are confidential, but according to The Telegraph, the savings for Chelsea are “significant” (i.e. Sterling has agreed to leave for less than he was still owed over the next year and a half, under the terms of his initial 5-year contract agreed in 2022).

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Chelsea accompanied the official announcement with the briefest of statements, thanking Raheem “for the contribution he has made as a Chelsea player” and wishing him “good luck for the next stage of his career”. It’s a bit disappointing for a player who has never been anything but a model professional and was a team leader and key player for us for a few years (19 goals and 15 assists in 81 appearances), before being told in no uncertain terms that he was surplus to requirements and would be better off finding a new home for himself.

As a free agent, it should be much easier for Sterling to find said new home before the transfer window (and therefore registration windows) closes in a few days.

Good luck, Raheem, and thanks for everything. I’m sure we all wanted things to go a little better. That goal against Dortmund was one of the best moments of BlueCo’s first two years.