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Raheem Sterling seals switch from Liverpool to Manchester City

| 14.07.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Manchester City have finally completed the signing of England international attacker Raheem Sterling from Liverpool, in a five-year deal which makes the 20-year-old the most expensive Englishman in history.

Sterling had previously asked to leave Anfield during the course of last season, with the Sky Blues also having seen two former bids turned down by the Reds, but a £49m deal has now been agreed.

City boss Manuel Pellegrini stated: “Raheem Sterling is one of the best attacking players in world football, and I am very much looking forward to him joining our squad out in Australia later this week.

“He is a young player with outstanding ability, and I am sure the Manchester City fans will be very excited about seeing him in action for the team.”

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers was previously keen to retain the services of contract rebel Sterling, having offered the starlet a new deal on the red half of Merseyside worth £100k-a-week, but he was set on a switch to City.

The forward becomes the second most expensive British player in history, behind only Gareth Bale, when the Welshman moved to Real Madrid in 2013 for £85.3m, and ends a five-year stay at Anfield.

Formerly of QPR, who will reportedly take a 20 per cent cut of the transfer fee, Sterling signed for Liverpool as a 15-year-old and has gone on to earn 16 caps for his country and score once, also featuring at last summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

Questions have been raised over such a mammoth fee which City have paid for the services of a very young star, though, who has yet to prove he is capable of regularly performing at the highest level. Sterling will be hoping to avoid following in the footsteps of many other English stars whose career’s hit a stumbling block at the Etihad, following promising moves to the Sky Blues.

The nature of Sterling’s departure from the club has led to much criticism from players and pundits alike, with recently departed former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard having confessed his utter disappointment in his ex-teammate.

“I’m not happy with all that carry-on,” stated Gerrard. “You don’t have to throw in illness, or refuse to go on tour. There are millions of Liverpool fans waiting to see Raheem pull on a Liverpool shirt. It looks very disappointing from where I’m sitting. The fans have shown him great support.”

Although, Sterling will now have the chance to properly compete for silverware with his new employers, and they are 12/5 with Coral to lift the Premier League crown next season.

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Author

Lee Gormley

Lee joined the Coral team in 2014 after studying at Leeds Trinity University, having moved across the water from Ireland, and has plenty of industry experience from his time with various news outlets in both England and Northern Ireland. After graduating with a BA Honours degree in Sports Journalism, he has since become an important member of the talented sports desk, passionately covering boxing, football and snooker, among many other sports. Lee is also a massive Manchester United and Republic of Ireland fan, but curbs any bias during his work, and outside of his job can be found regularly taking part in sport himself, such as boxing, GAA and football.