On this day in 2015, Raheem Sterling became the most expensive English player in football history when he completed his move from Liverpool to Manchester City for a fee rising to £49million.
City’s interest in the then 20-year-old England international had been that summer’s worst-kept secret, with Liverpool having rejected two previous bids.
However with Sterling having told manager Brendan Rodgers he wanted to leave and asking to be withdrawn from the squad for the Reds’ pre-season trip to Australia and the Far East, the writing was on the wall and they eventually bowed to the inevitable.
From one City number 7 to another… #WelcomeRaheem #mcfc pic.twitter.com/tQtDZxihMw
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 14, 2015
The pacy frontman had arrived at Liverpool as a 15-year-old from first club QPR in a deal which cost the Reds an initial £600,000, but his departure from Anfield was greeted with anger amid the perception he had forced his way out after rejecting a new contract offer.
In the process, he became big-spending City’s record signing with his fee eclipsing those paid for Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.
As he headed for the Etihad Stadium, Sterling said: “It’s a good feeling and this is really happy time for me and my family. I’m just glad it’s all over and done with and I can’t wait to get on the training field.
“The thing that excites me the most is the world class squad we have and knowing we have a team that is capable of winning things year in, year out.”
In his seven seasons in the blue half of Manchester, he won four Premier League titles, five League Cups, the FA Cup and the Community Shield and scored 131 goals in 337 games across all competitions while establishing himself as a key member of an England team which reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the final of Euro 2020.
He left in July 2022 as he returned to London in a £47.5million switch to Chelsea.
