"I tried to fight and change the situation" - Raheem Sterling reveals reason for Manchester City exit

One of the biggest headline departures from Manchester City has been none other than Raheem Sterling.

The England international decided to join Chelsea this summer, which put an end to his seven-year spell at the Etihad Stadium.

The 27-year old won 11 competitive honours during his time at City, playing a crucial role during what has arguably been a golden era for the East Manchester club.

The numbers speak for themselves in emphasizing Sterling’s immense contribution, as he registered 131 goals and 94 assists during his time in Sky Blue.

The period between 2017 to 2020 in particular is hailed as the Kingston-born winger’s prime at Manchester City.

Whilst City supporters are incredibly grateful for his incredible contributions, particularly during the 2017/18 centurion season,

things did start to take a turn for the worse for the electric forward over the past 24 months.

With one-year remaining on his City contract, the Englishman completed a £47.5 million move to Stamford Bridge last month, one of three big name departures from the club this summer.

Coming off the back of a tremendous Euro 2020 campaign for England, Sterling was expected to set things alight during the 2020/21 season.

However, it remains a popular opinion that the Englishman possibly endured his most underwhelming season in a City shirt, as per his own outstanding standards.

During the previous term, while the former Liverpool forward was largely excellent when given the chance, he played the least number of minutes since his debut season at the club.

While things seemingly went awry as the player decided to ultimately join Thomas Tuchel’s side, he has come out and given an insight into why he chose to leave the Premier League champions.

“The move came about because as a person you strive to achieve stuff. I felt my playing time at Man City was getting limited and you can't afford to waste that time. I didn't want to see my time rising and falling so I made the change.

"I tried to fight and change the situation but I couldn't and I came here”, he admitted, as quoted by Nizaar Kinsella of the Evening Standard.

The four-time Premier League winner also discussed why he put pen to paper for the West London outfit, explaining: “Chelsea have been in four or five finals in recent years. It shows they are competing and are only going up so with the new owners in it all made sense.”

Ultimately, it seems as if both Manchester City and Raheem Sterling are content with their decision to part ways, which is the ideal way to deal with such a high-profile exit.