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Raheem Sterling’s future was subject to intense speculation during the January transfer window. He didn’t sign for anyone but it’s not game over for the experienced winger’s season just yet.
Sterling is now a free agent. Having agreed an early contract termination with Chelsea last week, the 31-year-old brought an unhappy spell at Stamford Bridge to its conclusion and is currently in the wind.
As an unattached player he can still sign for a new club, but Sterling is on the clock if he wants to have one more crack at European football’s premier club competition.
Sterling’s Champions League future hangs in the balance
Clubs participating in the knock-out rounds of the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League can make amendments to their European squad lists before midnight on Thursday, February 5.
“Clubs in the three European club competitions are permitted to make a maximum of three changes to the squads they submitted for the league phase,” according to talkSPORT.
Despite the attention on the former Manchester City winger in the transfer window and no apparent lack of interest in signing him, Sterling’s immediate destiny remains unclear.
The Jamaica-born Londoner returned to the capital to join the Blues in 2022, 12 years after leaving Queens Park Rangers’ youth ranks to join Liverpool, but it hasn’t been the homecoming he wanted.
He’s had a successful career by anyone’s standards. After 95 Premier League outings for Liverpool he joined Man City and became one of England’s most highly regarded attacking players under the guidance of Pep Guardiola.
Sterling won all 10 of his major honours in a City shirt including four Premier League titles in five years between 2018 and 2022. He has 82 senior England caps but has not played for the Three Lions since their World Cup elimination against France in December 2022.
His international decline is a consequence of Sterling’s faltering fortunes at club level, where his playing time in the last two seasons has been extremely limited.
He scored 19 goals in 81 appearances in all competitions in his first two years as a Chelsea player but a loan to Arsenal in 2024-25 yielded just 17 Premier League appearances, seven as a starter.
It was an ignominious way to confirm that the wantaway Chelsea winger was on the outs as far as the top end of the Premier League was concerned. He was cast out on his return to Stamford Bridge and played no part in the 2025/26 season before his contract was mutually terminated.
It’s understood that Sterling and his representatives have been talking to a number of clubs and the possibility of alighting upon a Champions League-ready solution is still alive.
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