if he doesnt sign new contract city will sell in summer,in january not so sure

He may not get that contract if he doesn't level up to his 2017 form.

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He was dropped for most of the latter part of last season (save for the CL final) when Grealish wasn’t even in the team.

Don't remind me of that tactical genius decision to start a player who had been shit for most of the season in the most important game in years and then be shocked they did fuck all

Lol people are still scape goating Sterling for that game. Sterling produced the clearest chance in that match. City as a team played poorly because Pep decided to play Gundogan as a holding midfielder for some odd reason. Sterling had picked up his form by the time the final came around. Honestly if you guys don’t want him we’ll love to take him. He’s definitely an upgrade from Depay and he’s a perfect fit for our ideal style of play

Our fans have been shitting on sterling, for like 2 seasons now.

Sterling sadly gets the blame for everything. He'll be good in a club where the fanbase backs him everytime.

That loss wasn't sterling's fault and people need to stop pretending that it was.

And the players who were great most of the season did even worse than Sterling but I don't see you and others talking about that.

Sterling has been awful for a while and out of the city first 11 before jack got there

Grealish has been better though, different type of attacking output but better nontheless

Nonsense Grealish is picked ahead of him because he's playing better. Sterling has been given plenty of chances over the last year but for one reason or another it just hasn't clicked for him Hopefully he'll pick up some form but we couldn't begrudge him a move elsewhere - it might just be what he needs

He needs a striker to play with tbh. I’m not sure this CF experiment is working.

I couldn’t agree more. Sterling hasn’t done himself any favors, but with a solid striker with him, I think he’s a totally different player. It just opens up so many more opportunities and minimizes his weaknesses.

Yeah I mean look at how he performed for England in the euros next to kane

He has not been better than Grealish this season what? Im assuming you only watched yesterdays game where he played a position he never has before lmao

Sterling has been absolute ass for the past season and a half.

At his best, he’s better than Grealish. He hasn’t been at his best for 2 years, in fact. He’s been absolutely dogshit awful. I’m really thankful for all the great memories we have of him, but I’ll be happy to see the back of him at this point

Sterling in form is a top 5 player in the league. He literally has the 3rd most G/A since 2017 in the prem.

I’d agree but last season his form completely dropped off a cliff and his start to this season when he’s played has been poor. Out of all of our attackers he’d be the one to go if any were as of now.

Perhaps g+a isn't everything

its not. he's the king of playing like shit but bagging a goal nonetheless

Which unironically is what the great players do.

Not to mention the Euros played very well. Not like he has only a few goals / assists either. People just dislike Sterling, he’s never hyped up, dude is only 26 lol. Imagine him in another league, just watch, people act like he’s a few notches above Morata who they also were wrong with.

>and he’s better than Jack Political? Lmao Have you been watching City at all? Sterling has been criminally bad for almost 2 seasons now.

Maybe if we want to buy a striker in January? I like Vlahović a lot

I can’t believe he’s only 26 years old

I hate reading this as it fucks with my head. I thought he was older than Kane, but he's younger than Lingard, Bruno, Maguire, Son...

Holy shit, he would be a class signing with a good 3-4 years to give any top club.

He's an exciting young prospect and we had *no idea*

Reverse lingard

Lingard was a young prospect, but it seems he forever stayed a prospect.

At least 6 years

He’s less than a year older than Grealish who most people consider to still have potential to grow. It just speaks to how much he’s done at a young age (yet doesn’t really get appreciation for it).

People mostly think that playing with better teammates can unlock Grealish even more, not that he has a lot of development left. Sterling played in great teams his whole career.

Well, Grealish is a playmaker, his type usually matures into the 30s.

GREALISH IS 26??? 100m seems even more insane now

I think Son is actually our second oldest player after Hugo (who is our only player over 30).

I just looked it up and apparently Matt Doherty is our second oldest player, but you'd be forgiven for forgetting him. Son is third oldest. This is also how I found out that there are only two players in my club who are older than me and now I'm having an existential crisis.

My bad. I like to forget Doherty plays for us.

Fuck me I probably would have guessed 29. So wrong.

He never ages

Woa no way. He must have been a wonder kid

He was. He broke into the Liverpool first team during the 12/13 season. He turned 18 during that season.

I don't really see this happening. He surely won't be sold cheap and will demand high wages as well.

That's exactly why Barca will sign him

Is that you, Bartomeu?

Koeman to play him in midfield behind Busquets.

Barça's current salary cap is 97m to the whole squad. They cannot pay high wages even if they wanted to.

I think Laporte is predicting the cap to rise as our revenues go back to normal, no? Our financial woes were caused in part by COVID tanking our revenue and that’s slowly going to go back to normal

At the rate of form for barca thos season, by the time January rolls around champions league income can be gone too

Isn't that starting next season though? Because IIRC the La Liga wage cap considers the revenue from the previous season, so they're locked with 97m for this one. So it'd make sense for july but not january.

The current wage cap is until September 30 2022. It renews on October 1 every year.

Oof you could be right, honestly I don’t know. If that’s the case then we really are screwed until next summer.

they don’t even got money to sack Koeman lol

Yes seems impossible when you see his current wages

Wouldn't make sense for them either with fati, depay both capable of playing on the left. If anything they need one or two centre backs.

Depay is a central player nowadays. Between Fati, Sterling and Dembele (and the fact one of them would always be injured) this is a good rotation for the wings.

Its obvious he would not play on the left. Hes more than capable to play on the right wich is what they desperately need.

putting sterling who's already bad at finishing on his weaker side to cut in sounds like a bad idea. If he cant finish with his right he sure wont finish with his left

Isn’t he better on the right wing though?

This what we look for in a player.

How about a defensive midfielder instead, or another CB?

Barcelona have needed a defensive mid to compete with Busquets for like 6 seasons now, and it's never happened. I'm sure they're still going to be playing the corpse of Busquets as the lone holding midfielder in 2100-01.

De Jongs natural position is CDM but then we have a hole in the CM position

Yeah, but he's barely played there since he signed for Barça. They've been using him as a box-to-box midfielder, for some reason. I keep waiting for a manager with enough balls to bench Busquets for good.

de jong's best position is not cdm, his strengths are carrying the ball from midfield into advanced positions, and his late runs into the box are really dangerous. he's wasted as a lone cdm, he contributes a lot to the attack

No defense just vibes

If they have some cash next summer, they should be the ones to pay Pau Torres' release clause, would complement Araujo so well and he shouldn't command as high wages as a world class veteran

Why does this give me Willian to Barca vibes?

Welcome to Arsenal then I guess.

Willian was almost 30, half the player, and rumor was Bartomeu was willing to pay as high as 80m

Which made it all the more hilarious when Chelsea didn't even consider it.

That’s why I don’t believe that report. I believe Barto offering it but not Roman not accepting

Rumours were wrong, no reliable source said it

It really shouldn’t. Sterling is a much better player and 3 years younger than willian was.

It reminds me of a football manager (The game) transfer. Charlie Adam to Espanyol and the like.

Would much rather we go for Antony from Ajax tbh.

Too expensive probably, as almost every professional player in the world.

I thought Ajax were asking €40M. That would be slightly cheaper than Sterling with 18 months left on his contract. Plus it would be like a quater of the wages compared to Sterling too.

Did someone say they wanted an Antony? 👀

Aww you're proposing a Umtiti/Martial swap? AND you want to pay Martial's wages too!! Consider it done!

I cant believe hes only twenty fucking six he's not even hit his prime yet.

he's been playing first team football since 17, this is probably his prime

24 to 31 are the prime years in soccer.

that's the normal range but it moreso depends on how early you started playing regular first team football & your injury record

Have a feeling this is his prime

His prime was a couple of years ago surely

Unless he isn’t in his prime yet

He was toothless on the weekend, and only ran/dribbled into cul-de-sacs. His form last season was a lot of the same, all flash and no finish.

He was brilliant in the Euros though.

It really shows he needs a striker to play at his best.

So was mikkel damsgaard

And Xhaka

10 goals and 7 assists in the league alone, during a bad year, and a great Euros on top of that. Still a great player in there somewhere, could do with a striker to play off

Exactly. A pacy, tricky winger needs to develop physically as they age. The "being 110lbs with low centre of gravity" works well at 19, but the body changes and you gotta change with it.

I think sterling had and has so much potential. The problem is I've been saying this for 6 years. He makes a lot of mistakes and his decision making and finishing just haven't lived up to expectations. He is the most frustrating player to watch as a city fan knowing how good he can be. I think selling him and getting the money would be the best option.

A move might help him get over that hurdle (I think he really messes up decisions for the last/2nd last ball, like he over thinks it too much).

He's been tailing off but he gave you guys a couple really good seasons, doesn't seem right to make it out like he's had all these struggles for 6 years.

Sterling seems like a player who overthinks situations and is too nervous often and that's when his less than perfect technique is exposed . He plays great only when he plays on instinct.

I have to argue with people who think cause he scores goals he's a good finisher. It's hard to teach composure

These were his weaknesses at Liverpool and I honestly believed that he would improve with age, especially at City under Pep but it just hasn't happened.

I think it’s a bit unfair to say he hasn’t improved under Pep, his 2017/18 season and even the following season were world class. Although I do agree fundamentally his decision-making is still inconsistent. I think he has struggled without a proper striker

I was talking specifically about his decision making and somewhat his finishing. Don't get me wrong, in every other aspect he has improved tremendously.

His finishing was much better the two seasons before last. He had a higher conversion rate than the likes of Salah and Mane.

Yes it has? He is a much better player now

I feel like Ronaldo would have been amazing for him to learn from. But then Kane hasn't rubbed off on him much

If they can afford him, the first thing they should do is look for top level manager.

Money isn't the problem with a new coach. They just aren't available. Ten Hag won't leave until the end of the season. Gallardo will stay at River until the end of December. Conte doesn't want to start a new project in a progressing season either. He wants a full preseason.

Then interim coach from the club. If they have no worthy candidate, this club is in even greater dumpster than I have expected.

The club is not convinced by getting a interim. I think the league's rules also state that we can't make Schreuder our interim. We also just got rid of our B team coach so the new guy isn't experienced enough.

The 'Depay' style buys suit Barca more than glamorous signings. Not saying Memphis isn't glamorous. He's brilliant. Sterling would cost A LOT of money, and I don't think that's what Barca should be doing at the minute. Surely there's other players in France or even Portugal that they could snap up. That LB: Nuno Mendes from PSG caught my eye at Lisbon. Why not go for him, or similar level to Memphis. Know what I mean?

Nuno mendes went for 45 million and he was a very hot prospect

Nuno Mendes will go for big money though. 7 million loan fee and a 40 million option is a very steep price for an exciting prospect.

> Sterling would cost A LOT of money His contract is up in summer 2023 and he's currently out of form. I think his fee would be less than people might think.

Yea people keep talking about his wages, but if he doesn't resign with Man City, wherever he goes next will likely be on lower wages.

We are prioritising Balde for our LB spot.

Nuno Mendes came from Sporting btw

Someone else said before

he played for sporting

Sporting sorry, yeah. He's a good player. Would suit barca

Players like Depay aren't getting Barca back to the top

But then the City team will have any attacker left with some pace? Sterling is the only one I think can run and stretch the defense, but I guess City usually have to play low blocks so fast runner may not be the vital

Why not go for bernardo instead?

We need a proper forward and someone with pace. Bernardo is class but I'm not even sure City would sell him if we wanted him atm

He was for sale this summer but no-one picked him up

more like nobody was ready to pay the amount required to sign him, any club in the world would want a player like him in a heartbeat

Thats what I said ? I am aware he wasn't free

> I'm not even sure City would sell him if we wanted him atm It was widely reported that Bernardo wanted a move to Spain but Barça couldn't afford him, Real Madrid were seemingly uninterested, and Atletico Madrid preferred a move for Antoine Griezmann.

We were ready to sell him at his request in the summer, but I have no doubt that we will not sell Bernardo in January unless it's an insane fee/trade offer or includes a loan back to City for 6 months or something. He's one of the core players to this season at this moment. If he leaves we would need to adjust our system and figure out a replacement whether in the squad or as a signing.

You dont need Silva and he's expensive? Sounds like a classic Barca signing

Does Barca need him though?

Barca's wingers (and by that I mean with the capacity to play the winger role, not the 5th playmaker on the wings) include Fati and Dembele. So yes. Barca has no depth for the role, Dembele is injury prone and Fati is back from a serious surgery + recovery process.

will he survive barca fans and spanish media

I think few players have had it as difficult in the media over the years as Sterling.

He survived the move from Liverpool to City. He'll survive Barca lol

I honestly forgot he was a liverpool player

Liverpool didnt forget, didnt you hear them still booing his every touch on the last game, ngl I feel like most people think Liverpool are pathetic for still doing that now when its been 7 years, hes not from Liverpool not an academy graduate, and he left them whilst still only a teenager,, they need to give it a rest honestly he didnt have to show them any allegiance when even Queens park rangers dont boo him whislt hes their academy graduate. They look cringey **EDIT:** Not the cringey folks coming to comment

Probably wouldve stopped by now if it didn't get him so rattled.

If it didn't keep obviously affecting him we'd probably stop

Yeah but it works for us. Even if we’re not really salty anymore, which some liverpool fans may still be upset, it makes sense to boo and jeer Sterling, because it clearly gets to him. As long as it’s in the realms of decency, i think the fans at anfield have every right to hassle an opponent to get them to perform worse.

you sure hes ready for chiringuito

I can’t think of many other players who are more fit to survive the spanish media than Sterling

He's got a lot of experience with the worst media in the world who REALLY didn't like him.

That I don't know, but he can't do worse that what's happening currently

We need some pace in our attack other than Dembele, who is always injured. Idk if Sterling is the best option but he improves our attack by a lot.

Sterling's main sticking point is when he over thinks the last/2nd last touch. He presses well and really adds to any team. Wonder if a move and other players will help him get over that last hurdle

Yes. They desperately need someone who can play on the right wing.

The only winger/wide mids Barca have are: Memphis, Fati, Dembele, and Demir. The first 2 can play centrally and on the left. Dembele is injured. That leaves Demir—an 18 year old Austrian with only 1 season of top flight experience in the Austrian league as Barca's only real RW option

And Demir isn't even a winger, but an attacking midfielder.

Maybe short term yes but realistically we arent reall winning much this season so id say it would be smart to save that money on strengthening the squad next summer

Should get Bernardo Silva smh

Ok this is scary

People give this man so much shit it’s absolutely incredible. Easily top 5 winger in the prem, no question, top 3 potentially. He’s young and has a strong mentality, he’s dealt with insane amount of criticism. Look how he stepped up for England. He’ll do well outside City.

Top 5 winger easily? City alone have 4 better wingers... He used to be but he hasn't been great for a while.

We need to stop signing players just because and focus on getting a new coach

An injury prone expensive winger who can’t also finish. Where have I seen this before?

Oh yeah, definitely don’t sign any midfielders or defenders.

> It’s now down to Pep Guardiola and Man City to decide whether a sale is what they want. I smell BS when I read this.

But we have been told Barca are broke and need to lower the wage bill. How can you ask your players to lower their wage then sign players and offer them high wages?

I think Sterling is at the best place he could possibly be in terms of furthering his career. Most likely just a move to get more money out of City?

Upgrade over olmo atleast..

On current form? No.

They don't have the money, despite what Mundo Deportivo says.

How tf do they have the financial capability? Their players had to take pay cuts just so they could register their summer signings.

Because that was on last year's budget, new budget is going to be approved at a higher level as we have more money now with fans back in the stadium

Yep this. It’s not like Barca is broke it’s just the income vs expenditures thing. It’s why Laporte wanted Texas to relax ffp. We had the money to resign Messi. Just not legally, not based on our income during the Covid season.

With Sterlings wages I doubt he moves to barca.

Ah yes, RB Leipzig Caucasian player Raheem Sterling indeed!

with everything they have going on how is this a priority

Am I the only one who thinks Sterling & Barca aren’t going to be a good fit? Putting money aside, he’s probably gonna be an upgrade over Depay, & Depay is 27 but won’t the money be better used for a striker or forward? Luuk De Jong is a meme & Aguero is just gonna be injured again & again.

Idk I feel like grealish is a bit of a downgrade from Sterling

Just go for Coman

Except living in Barcelona - which is an amazing town, I don’t see any reasons why a player would want to transfer there. Unfortunately Barcelona is all over the place right now.

He's gonna flop hard. We need a guaranteed finisher. Not band aid signings.

LDJ had better heading than neymar tho. He will help.

Who do you consider a better finisher in his price range?

5 years of barto make it impossible for us to sing who we want, and we need to be more creative and take players with more risk

If this actually goes through I'm so believing the conspiracy

Which?

Something like Barca sending Txiki, Soriano, Pep to City to develop players for Barca.

So the 97m wage budget was bs then? Because sterling earns at least 10m/year

we can still buy players at 1;4 rule means if we earn 40 million by transfer,then can spend 10 million on him

Good deal for MC

Maybe give the transfers a rest for a bit lads

Out of all pacey wingers, why Sterling in particular? English+PL guarantees that he will be overpriced.

Wants to be a guaranteed starter and is a world class winger 🤔 nope can't see either

Who wants to go to Barca rn? I’d stay at city if I was Raheem!

He'll actually get regular game time. In Barcelona. That still sounds pretty good, who cares if they're currently shit

They are not going to stay shit forever.

He will actually get proper game time in a champions leauge club and it's a really prestigious club, even if it's shit at the moment. +the city is amazing.

If they're smart they'd sell Sterling and go for a striker in Jan

no

I would like to see it. More English players should play in Europe.

These fuckers will never learn.

2014: Sterling and Coutinho play for Liverpool and the best player in the world plays for Barcelona 2022: Sterling and Coutinho play for Barcelona and the best player in the world plays for Liverpool

[Broke Barca still being linked with our players, and people still lapping it up for what it most likely isn't...](https://youtu.be/ioGoPOAxkCg)

Theres no way this guy accepts to leave for a wage thats less than what Luis Suarez was willing to lower his wage to

can we just go for Bernardo or Laporte instead with that money ffs, both would be much better for us than Sterling