Rio Ferdinand has questioned Pep Guardiola's decision to sell Raheem Sterling, with the former Manchester City forward tipped for a bright future at Chelsea. The 27-year-old, who has penned a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge in a transfer worth £47.5million, impressed on his competitive debut for the west Londoners in a 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.
Sterling gave an exciting account of himself and showed great promise; the England international even found the back of the net, though his effort was ruled offside. With a promising display under his belt already, Ferdinand has probed as to why City didn't put up more of a fight for his services - especially to a title rival.
Speaking to William Hill, the former Manchester United defender said: "He had the most minutes under Pep (Guardiola) since he’s been there, which shows the amount of influence he had at City. I was surprised there wasn’t as much, not anger, but disbelief from the City fans, and there wasn’t as much ‘yes we’ve got him’ at Chelsea.
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"It was weird, it was one of those signings," Ferdinand added. "And the price – you think for the output that he’s had in his career at City alone, I was expecting more both ways.
"I don’t know why (it was like that)? If you ask every right-back in the league who their hardest player to play against at left-wing is, he’d be in everyone’s top two or three, easy, and top of most lists. It’s a big season for him and I think he’ll have a good opportunity to have a big impact."
Speaking to the official Chelsea website last month, Sterling spoke of his joy in joining the club. He said: "First and foremost, it's a pleasure to be here. 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' management.
"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.
"I do want to take the opportunity to thank Todd, Behdad, the ownership group, Thomas, and all involved in the process of getting me here. I can't wait to get going now and continue to do my talking on the pitch."
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