Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling passed up a chance to join Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr last summer, according to The Telegraph. The England international was reported to have received an offer from the Saudi Pro League side in 2023 that could’ve made him one of the highest earners in the division alongside Ronaldo.
Drawing a hefty £300,000 ($378,000)-a-week in London, Sterling is already making a fortune, but it is yet to produce his best. He has scored just 16 goals in 68 games, as injuries have hampered his form. With Chelsea continuing to disappoint, he’s come under jeers from the supporters like many others in the squad.
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Moving to Saudi Arabia might have given him a good chance to reboot his career. The prospect of playing alongside Ronaldo and earning greater wages does seem tempting. However, he refused to tread the same route as other ex-Chelsea stars, Edouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly. All of them joined the Saudi Pro League last summer with Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal respectively.
After seven glorious years with Manchester City, Sterling signed for Chelsea in July 2022 on a five-year contract worth £47.5 million and has played under four different managers since, including caretaker manager Frank Lampard. Yet, the Blues have continued to struggle. After finishing 10th in the league last year, the London outfit finds themselves in similar position even now.
Meanwhile, Al Nassr are second in the Saudi league right now. They’re trailing leaders Al Hilal by seven points with just 15 games remaining. Ronaldo returned from an injury to score the winner against Al-Feyha in their AFC Champions League first-leg tie on Wednesday. He has scored 25 goals and made 11 assists in 26 games across all competitions for them this season.
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