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Raheem Sterling was offered the chance to leave Chelsea for Bayern Munich in the final days of the summer transfer window.
The England international remains out of favour at Stamford Bridge under head coach Enzo Maresca. Last season he was told he would not be part of the Blues’ squad and was sent on loan to Arsenal.
Sterling failed to find his best form at the Emirates and has slipped back to the fringes at Chelsea as a result. A permanent move did not materialise in the last window either, and he is currently training away from the first team.
According to The Athletic, Bayern were open to taking the 30-year-old on loan. However, Sterling rejected the move as he was unwilling to relocate his family from London to Germany, and reluctant to spend a prolonged spell away from them.
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany, a former teammate of Sterling at Manchester City, spoke sympathetically about the winger’s situation last week.
“It’s a tough one because on the one hand I have a lot of respect for Enzo [Maresca] and my colleagues at Chelsea. I understand it’s not easy to make a decision as a coach.
“On the other hand, Raheem is one of my former teammates and that bond always remains. It’s funny because last year I had Leroy Sané here as well, and those two were devastating in the Premier League when they played together.
“The only thing I can hope, because he’s still at a good age, is that he can turn it around and show the world his quality. Hopefully he finds a situation where everything fits for him, and I wish him all the best.”
For now, Sterling remains part of Chelsea’s so-called “bomb squad” alongside other players frozen out of the first-team picture. Last week, he posted on Instagram from the club’s training ground late in the evening, underlining his ongoing exile.
It also emerged that the Professional Footballers’ Association has contacted Chelsea regarding their handling of the player.
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