BREAKING: Chelsea make market move they’ve been trying for 18 months with £22m deal done at last | OneFootball

Raheem Sterling has left Chelsea after the winger and his club finally reached a settlement to pay off his remaining 18 months of contract at Stamford Bridge.

David Ornstein has the exclusive on the deal, which has come from nowhere in the last few days, going from a remote possibility to a done deal at last.

Chelsea finally reach Sterling contract deal to end 18 month impasse

David Ornstein’s Tweet about Raheem Sterling’s contract negotiation.

The 31 year old was the final remaining player in Chelsea’s “bomb squad” training alone at Cobham and living what looks a relatively miserable existence for a player who should be enjoying the final years of his peak.

Sterling hasn’t featured for Chelsea since May 2024, after which the club made all efforts to force him out. However his monster contract – the very reason they wanted him out – made it impossible to find a buyer. A last minute loan to Arsenal last season gave some respite, but their insistence on a permanent move this time around meant the former Man City star has just been kicking his heels for almost a year.

The remaining value of his contract, which ran until May 2028, was about £22m. Whatever deal has been struck will not pay him all of that, but will certainly hand over a large chunk, while also making him a free agent able to make a deal elsewhere and get back to playing.

Thus ends one of our more disastrous signings of recent years, perhaps on a tier with Romelu Lukaku and Mykhailo Mudryk in terms of financial and footballing disasters.

In other news…

Our predicted team for tonight’s game is here, with a lot of questions for Liam Rosenior to think about.

Malo Gusto is one of the players who could have a crucial role tonight, and he spoke before the game about what he thought his team had learned in their Champions League experiences this season.