After seven successful years at the Etihad Stadium, Raheem Sterling finally brought an end to his unforgettable career at Manchester City over the summer.
The English superstar departed the Premier League champions for English rivals Chelsea, garnering an impressive £47.5M ($56M) transfer fee along the way. The former Liverpool starlet entered the final year of that Man City contract, hence the decision to cash in on him, but his departure was sad to see nonetheless.
Cityzens fans and players joined hands in paying tribute to Sterling while the player issued a heartfelt farewell of his own, having won a whopping four Premier League titles, five Carabao Cups, an FA Cup, and a Community Shield.
However, the attacker has now sat down with Sky Sports for a candid interview and has opened up about the ugly part of his Manchester City exit. Despite the wonderful memories, Sterling admitted that his final few months in Manchester left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Everyone wants to feel wanted, football is no different," the goalscorer said
"When you play your heart out, sacrifice some of your kids' birthdays, and then get treated in a certain way, it's disappointing.
"At the time I was fuming, raging, but it's gone, it's in the past and I can only focus on the present, which is now, here at Chelsea, and the opportunity I've got here to go out and showcase my talents once again."
When pressed on the exact factors that forced Raheem into this decision, the winger highlighted his contract situation. Despite being a key figure in Guardiola's dominance in England, the 27-year-old was allowed to enter the final year of his Etihad Stadium deal and his future at the club was often under debate.
"Misunderstandings, contracts running down. It was a shame to see how it ended in the end because I had such a great time there," the attacker added.
"A lot of things came into play, a lot of reasons, but I wasn't complaining, I was ready to challenge and, as you can see, even with some of the performances I put in, you couldn't guarantee yourself a place so it just didn't make sense to fight a battle you can never win.
"As a player you always want to do your best and help your team, but when you don't think things are going fairly, it's always a disappointment.
"If you are not happy playing your football you've got to look at other options to get that happiness back, and that's exactly what I have done. It was the right time for me to move on. I wouldn't stay part of something I knew I couldn't give my all in.
"It [City] is a fantastic club, it's a club that wins lots of trophies, it's a club that has helped my development massively in the past couple of years, but there comes a time when you've got to think about yourself, what's best for yourself, and what you want for the future. That's the sole reason why I am here [at Chelsea]."
Where Pep Guardiola failed, Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to succeed as the German did not hesitate in recruiting Sterling. The Englishman is yet to score at Stamford Bridge but has been one of the Blues' livelier attacker and will be keen on getting on the scoresheet against Leeds on Sunday.
