‘Guardiola said I could be the world’s best – now I’m being told to go to Crystal Palace’

A player Pep Guardiola recently said is right at the top of world football has been told to leave his Premier League club for Crystal Palace

Raheem Sterling – who Pep Guardiola once claimed could become the world’s best – has been urged to join Crystal Palace in order to “kick-start” his career. The forward, 29, has endured a dismal second season at Chelsea to match his disappointing maiden campaign in west London.

Sterling saw his game time drastically decrease over the course of the season under Mauricio Pochettino. With the Blues’ reported struggles with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), there have been suggestions that Sterling, currently their highest earner, could be sold to alleviate some of those financial pressures.

The winger is understood to be keen to remain at Stamford Bridge and fight for his place at Chelsea, whose late-season string of results has seen them climb up to sixth place. Yet former Chelsea striker and pundit Chris Sutton believes the England international is more likely to leave in the summer.

Despite his contract running up to 2027, Sutton thinks Sterling will benefit from playing for a side further down the table, such as Crystal Palace. Sutton said on the ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ podcast: “He will probably end up at Crystal Palace or somewhere like that, I suspect.

“I thought his goal was excellent at the weekend, we aren’t party to what goes on at the Chelsea training ground and clearly Pochettino feels there has been a dip in form. We know what a talented player he is. But he does look like a player who needs a player to kick-start his career.”

Sterling scored just six league goals in his first season with Chelsea after his £47.5million move in July 2022. He has managed to notch seven goals this campaign, with his latest being an equaliser in the late 3-2 comeback win at Nottingham Forest. The veteran has been somewhat unlucky to have the latter end of his career coincide with a squad rebuild at Chelsea where they are clearly not at their peak. Still, being urged to sign for 12th-place Palace is a stark contrast to what Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola predicted he would become – one of the best players in the world.

Guardiola, who is expected to win his fourth league title in a row on Sunday, was speaking in 2018 when Sterling was still just 23. Incredibly, it came after a Manchester Derby defeat where Sterling missed two clear-cut one-on-ones as City suffered a 3-2 loss.