No, I don’t want to sell him to Chelsea – Pep Guardiola finally reveals..
After seven years with Manchester City, Raheem Sterling agreed to a £47.5 million transfer to Chelsea.
However, Sterling came to Chelsea with a strong resume. In 337 appearances for Manchester City, the England international scored 131 goals and provided 94 assists.
Sterling has played at a very high level for many years and won four Premier League championships during his seven years at Manchester City.
However, Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has now acknowledged that he had no intention of selling Sterling to Chelsea, but that he was forced to do so because it was best for the player and the team as a whole.
Man City chose to sell Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, and Zinchenko instead of Nathan Ake to Chelsea.
“No [the transfers weren’t guaranteed to happen] because I was incredibly happy with Gabriel, Oleks and Raheem,” he said.
“If they stayed longer there would be no problem. They proved last year how good they are.
“But sometimes the players want more, and the club feel it is the right moment to do it. But the most important thing is they leave happy with the club and what they have done.
“Normally when you talk about transfers in Spain, Germany, England, it is 10 per cent more. It happens and we know it.
“It happens because they are really good. They are the best ages and their best years are maybe coming now. That’s why they have a value in the market.
“Chelsea and Arsenal have paid the money that is fair. And the discussions were perfect, Txiki [Begiristain] told me. Good for both sides and really friendly.”