England star Raheem Sterling has completed his high profile move from Manchester City to rivals Chelsea, marking the first high profile signing for the London club under the new ownership.
The 27-year-old former Liverpool player signed a five-year contract with the Thomas Tuchel, in a deal said to be worth in the region of £47.5 million.
The Jamaica born Sterling in comments released on the Chelsea website, expressed his pleasure at joining the London giants.
“I’ve obviously achieved a lot in my career so far, but there is still so much more to achieve and I’m really looking forward to doing that in a Chelsea shirt, under Thomas’s management,” sterling said.
“London is my home and where it all started for me, and it’s amazing I now have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family week in, week out at Stamford Bridge. I’m really looking forward to meeting the fans there soon.”
Todd Boehly, who led a consortium that bought the two time UEFA Champions League winners from Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, hailed the signing of Sterling.
“Raheem Sterling is a serial winner and his signing is an important step in strengthening our squad. We are delighted for Raheem to return to London with Chelsea, and we look forward to seeing his world-class talent on display at Stamford Bridge,” he said.
Sterling’s former boss at Manchester City, where he won four league tittle, wished him well on his move after a successful seven years stay in the blue half of Manchester.
Director of Football at the reigining English champions Txiki Begiristain said: “Raheem has been a wonderful servant for Manchester City, and he leaves our club on the best terms possible having helped us win yet another Premier League title…He will be forever part of Manchester City and we wish him well in the next chapter of his career and he departs knowing he will always be welcomed at this football club.”
Sterling joined Manchester City from Liverpool in a £49 million deal, making the price tag the highest transfer fee ever paid for an English player at the time. He went on to play 339 games for the Pep Guardiola coached team scoring 131 goals in the process.
