Chelsea let three players leave for Saudi Arabia last summer - but there could easily have been a fourth
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chelsea were no strangers to some of their star players leaving for Saudi Arabia last summer, with N'Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Eduoard Mendy all departing Stamford Bridge for the Middle East.
But it seems a key player still in their prime years had the opportunity to join them in the Saudi Pro League, too, which was quickly rejected in favour of fighting in the Premier League with Chelsea.
Indeed, according to The Telegraph, Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling received an offer that would have trebled his reported £300,000-per-week wages last summer.
Sterling chose to stay at Chelsea (Image credit: Getty Images)
That reported deal would have seen Sterling become one of the three best-paid players in Saudi Arabia after Cristiano Ronaldo, who currently earns a staggering £177m a year while playing for Al-Nassr. The England international decided to turn down a move, though, as he looked to turn his fortunes around with the Blues.
A disappointing first season with Chelsea, following his £47.5m switch from Manchester City, saw Sterling manage just six goals in 28 Premier League appearances, causing many fans to criticise his signing.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly even personally spoke to Sterling towards the end of last season, following a home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. But that did little to deter the now-29-year-old from fighting for his place at Stamford Bridge - especially with Mauricio Pochettino incoming as the new manager.
Sterling was offered the chance to earn similar to Ronaldo (Image credit: Getty Images)
While he is yet to reproduce the sort of form that had Pep Guardiola fawning over him at Manchester City, Sterling is clearly one of Pochettino's more trusted players in the team. Now the third-oldest member of the squad, Sterling has scored five goals and set up a further six in 19 Premier League starts so far this campaign.
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Raheem Sterling's Chelsea contract still runs until 2027, meaning he has another three seasons to try and win the fans and board over. With a Carabao Cup final coming up against former side Liverpool next weekend, the England international has the opportunity to do just that.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
