Raheem Sterling has reportedly asked Manchester City to sanction a transfer to Barcelona this January after falling down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola.
Sterling – who has 18 months left on his contract at City – played a starring during England’s Euro 2020 campaign but has since struggled to cement a place in Guardiola’s starting IX.
Therefore, the 26-year-old striker believes the opportunity to play regular football in LaLiga is too good to turn down.
According to Sport, Sterling has told the Manchester City manager that he would like to join Barcelona during the January transfer window.
Barcelona manager Xavi is said to be a ‘big fan’ of Sterling and has made his thoughts on signing the England star clear.
Guardiola is reportedly willing to let Sterling leave on loan this winter, but the Catalan giants are currently unable to pay his £300,000-a-week wages due to financial restrictions placed on them by LaLiga.
Therefore, an agreement between all parties involved in the deal would have to be reached in order for a transfer to take place.
When previously asked about Sterling’s future at the club during a pre-match press conference, Guardiola said: ‘Don’t ask me from now on until the last day of the window about transfers because I’m not going to answer.
‘It is not my business and it is not our business – Raheem’s either. Our business is Everton, PSG, West Ham, and the rest.
‘I’m not going to answer any questions about what is going to happen in the future because I don’t know. And I am not concerned for one second.’
He also added that he can’t guarantee players minutes and insisted past achievements don’t affect selections.
‘I cannot assure them game time, any one of them — they have to prove themselves,’ Guardiola said.
‘Raheem’s such an important player for us, many players are so important. If they are not satisfied, it is so simple.
‘With their agents, go to the club and say, “I am not happy, I want to leave” and we are going to find a solution.
‘I am pretty sure of that. We want people committed and happy to be here. You want more minutes? I cannot assure them, not Raheem, not any of them.’
While Sterling previously admitted that he would be ‘open’ to moving abroad given his circumstances at Manchester City.
Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Sport US summit, he said: ‘If there was the option to go somewhere else for more game time I would be open to it.
‘As I said, football is the most important thing to me – challenges that I have set myself from a young age and dreams as well.
‘As an English player all I know is the Premier League and I’ve always thought maybe one day I’d love to play abroad, to see how I would come up against that challenge.
‘I actually should be learning a few different languages. I quite like the French accent and Spanish.’
As it stands, the 26-year-old striker is contracted with City until the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
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