Vesper

Why Raheem Sterling didn’t leave Chelsea – and what’s happening now https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6651696/2025/09/25/raheem-sterling-Chelsea-where-what-transfer/ A picture on social media goes viral. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) gets involved. Enzo Maresca talks about his father’s career as a fisherman. Raheem Sterling’s situation at Chelsea has certainly been getting a lot of attention lately. When the transfer window shut in England on September 1, Sterling was still a Chelsea player. This remained the case after deadline days in the Netherlands (September 2), Turkey and Mexico (September 12) and Portugal (September 15). A final possible option — the Saudi Pro League — ended when its window closed yesterday. It did not come as a surprise to either party. Neither the club nor Sterling wanted it to come to this. Yet the 30-year-old is now facing over three months of training away from the first team at Cobham. Centre-back Axel Disasi is going through the same thing. A further sign, if needed, of just how far out of the picture Sterling (and Disasi) is came on Wednesday when the club published their official squad photograph for the 2025-26 season on their official website/app and he was not in it. Understandably, the focus is centred on Sterling. This was Chelsea’s ‘marquee’ signing of the 2022 summer window, bought from Manchester City for £47.5million (then $57m) and made the highest-paid player at the club with a salary in excess of £300,000 a week. Not so long ago, he was one of the biggest names in English football, having won 10 major honours at Manchester City. He was also probably England’s best player as they reached the final of Euro 2020 (played in 2021 because of Covid-19 restrictions) and voted Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in 2019. Another measure of his impact came four years ago, when he was awarded an MBE for his work to promote racial equality in sport. Sterling was the marquee signing when he arrived in summer 2022 (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) So what is going on? Let’s start with Sterling posting a picture on his official Instagram account of the training ground and writing ‘20.21’ (using the 24-hour clock) as a caption to indicate what time he was there. Within a few days, reports then emerged that the players union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, had contacted Chelsea about how Sterling and Disasi were being treated. This is not an unusual step for the PFA to take when players find themselves on the periphery at a football club. It is actually a very common occurrence with the PFA representing players in the Premier League, EFL and the Women’s Super League. But when a player as big as Sterling is involved at such a newsworthy club as Chelsea, it inevitably gets much bigger attention. Nor is the PFA interaction very confrontational. Conversations are cordial, and if anything, the PFA sees its role as just being there to advise on the regulations and check clubs are staying on the right side of them as far as player care is concerned. As Chelsea were providing the duo with coaching sessions and access to facilities at the club’s training ground, there were no major concerns in this department. Perhaps the most significant thing that has taken place since then is that the duo have had a few training sessions with the under-21s. Sources speaking anonymously to The Athletic to protect relationships say that this is all part of a plan put in place to keep the players in shape before trying to secure them a move in January. Chelsea head coach Maresca then had his say on the situation last Friday, saying that real strife was his dad working long hours as a fisherman. While you can understand the point he was trying to make — and there will be fans who will not have too much sympathy for what Sterling and Disasi are going through, given the riches they earn — it did not help defuse the situation. Sterling has been here before. He was part of the fringe group last year, too, after Maresca decided the winger was not part of his plans following the 2024 pre-season tour of the United States. On both occasions, he had to train away from the senior squad along with others who were up for sale or loan. This summer, the group was overseen by loan technical coach Carlo Cudicini, with former under-18s youth coach Ed Brand taking the sessions themselves. Sources speaking anonymously to protect relationships say many of those involved felt there was a better setup to help this time compared to 2024. Many internationals, including Joao Felix, Ben Chilwell, Renato Veiga and Armando Broja, were involved, so standards were high. But that group has since been sold. It was always going to be harder for the individuals left behind. In saying that, Sterling is continuing to work with his own team, as he has done for many years. This includes England’s former lead physical performance coach Ben Rosenblatt. They concentrate on strength and conditioning, ball work and fitness. Sterling has facilities at his London home to do various exercises as well. The extra spare time on his hands means he can be around his children a lot more, watch his eight-year-old son, Thiago, at Arsenal’s academy, and attend the academy sessions at the RS7 Academy that he has set up for young players aged six to 11 in Tolworth. Still, the obvious query football fans will have is why the club or Sterling have not been able to come to a solution to avoid all this. Well, it was never going to be straightforward. The cost is one reason. Even if Chelsea pay a proportion of Sterling’s wages for a loan, like they did at Arsenal last season, it would still be an expense that would put off teams. Indeed, Sterling is one of the reasons the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium soon changed to offering incentivised rather than guaranteed contracts. What You Should Read Next The BookKeeper: Projecting how close Premier League teams are to UEFA’s spending limits Nine Premier League teams are playing in Europe this season which means they must adhere to UEFA's rules or face fines or even a ban Sources close to Sterling, kept anonymous to protect relationships, say the forward did not want a repeat of last summer, when a season-long loan to Arsenal was organised in the final 48 hours before the deadline. There was little time to speak to head coach Mikel Arteta about how he would be used. Of the 28 appearances he made, totalling a mere 1,143 minutes, only 13 were from the start. His form was not great, as a tally of one goal and five assists suggests, yet he did not play consistently. Some European clubs did come in for Sterling earlier in the recent window, although mainly over a season-long loan. But sources close to Sterling say the biggest factor was that he wanted to remain in London, where his family live. Bayern Munich made a late attempt to convince Sterling to join them. It is perhaps not that surprising, given another former Manchester City team-mate — Vincent Kompany — is the head coach. A move for Sterling was raised during discussions with Chelsea over the loan deal for Nicolas Jackson. Some will inevitably question how Sterling can say no to a club that will provide a great opportunity to compete for major honours. But the sources close to Sterling point out that he was reluctant to move his family to Germany, or be away from them, for what could be nine months, especially with little guarantee of featuring regularly. He had a good relationship with Arteta (who worked as Pep Guardiola’s assistant from 2016-2019) from their time together at the Etihad Stadium, yet that did not make a difference regarding game time while at Arsenal. As for a switch to another team in London, there was interest over a loan at various points, but it was never close to formal discussions. Raheem Sterling struggled for game time with Arsenal (Alex Davidson/Getty Images) Sterling will feel he has done nothing wrong because a club that suited his circumstances never materialised. Chelsea will believe they are not the bad guys either, with Sterling having the possibility to join some big clubs and turning them down. So what now? Given that Sterling turns 31 in December and will have gone seven months without a competitive game when the January window opens, the possibility of getting a move then certainly will not be any easier. One option, of course, would be to reach a settlement over his contract, which expires in 2027. The problem here is that Sterling is not going to walk away from around £30m he is due to earn in wages. Who would? That is money that can benefit Sterling’s family for generations. Chelsea are not going to pay him off in full to get rid of him, either, just so he can join someone as a free agent — and benefit from another contract. What club would? Clearly, a compromise has to be reached for that to happen. This is a scenario where neither is the victim nor the villain. Until a resolution is found, there are no winners either.

https://archive.ph/CeiJr

Hell NO!

He should be! BlueCo have ratfucked him hard.

ugly win

Jørgensen is shit in the air shambolic

never seen a player with a higher pecentage of moon-shots than Gusto

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee again 1 2

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

boooooooooooooooooooooooo we may lose this

we are a joke on these corners and crosses

we are playing like shite so depressing

we are absolutely fucked at CB

shitshow start

Men’s Ballon d’Or top 30 1. Ousmane Dembele (PSG & France) 2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona & Spain) 3. Vitinha (PSG & Portugal) 4. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) 5. Raphinha (Barcelona & Brazil) 6. Achraf Hakimi (PSG & Monaco) 7. Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid & France) 8. Cole Palmer (Chelsea & England) 9. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City & Italy) 10. Nuno Mendes (PSG & Portugal) 11. Pedri (Barcelona & Spain) 12. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (PSG & Georgia) 13. Harry Kane (Bayern & England) 14. Desire Doue (PSG & France) 15. Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal & Sweden) 16. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil) 17. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland) 18. Scott McTominay (Napoli & Scotland) 19. Joao Neves (PSG & Portugal) 20. Lautaro Martinez (Inter & Argentina) 21. Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund & Guinea) 22. Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool & Argentina) 23. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid & England) 24. Fabian Ruiz (PSG & Spain) 25. Denzel Dumfries (Inter & Netherlands) 26. Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway) 27. Declan Rice (Arsenal & England) 28. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands) 29. Florian Wirtz (Liverpool & Germany) 30. Michael Olise (Bayern & France) Women’s Ballon d’Or top 30 1. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona & Spain) 2. Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal & Spain) 3. Alessia Russo (Arsenal & England) 4. Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain) 5. Chloe Kelly (Arsenal & England) 6. Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona & Spain) 7. Leah Williamson (Arsenal & England) 8. Ewa Pajor (Barcelona & Poland) 9. Lucy Bronze (Chelsea & England) 10. Hannah Hampton (Chelsea & England) 11. Claudia Pina (Barcelona & Spain) 12. Marta (Orlando Pride & Brazil) 13. Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona & Norway) 14. Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride & Zambia) 15. Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea & France) 16. Cristiana Girelli (Juventus & Italy) 17. Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current & Malawi) 18. Melchie Dumornay (OL Lyonnes & Haiti) 19. Klara Buhl (Bayern & Germany) 20. Pernille Harder (Bayern & Denmark) 21. Amanda Gutierres (Palmeiras & Brazil) 22. Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC & Spain) 23. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd (Chelsea & Sweden) 24. Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit & Italy) 25. Emily Fox (Arsenal & USWNT) 26. Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes & USWNT) 27 (tied). Frida Maanum (Arsenal & Norway) 27 (tied). Clara Mateo (Paris FC & England) 29. Steph Catley (Arsenal & Australia) 30. Caroline Weir (Real Madrid & Scotland)

Barcelona confirm double injury blow to Gavi, Fermín López https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/46345202/barcelona-confirm-double-injury-blow-gavi-fermin-lopez

“That is insane” – Frank Leboeuf slams Enzo Maresca decision in Man United defeat https://Chelsea.news/2025/09/frank-leboeuf-enzo-maresca-criticism/ Frank Leboeuf has labelled one decision Enzo Maresca made during Chelsea’s game against Manchester United as “insane.” Chelsea slumped to a 2-1 defeat against United at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, as their wait for a first win at the famous ground since 2013 continues. It was Chelsea’s first defeat of the Premier League season and it leaves them on eight points from five games, and already seven points behind leaders Liverpool at this early stage. Frank Leboeuf not impressed with Enzo Maresca Maresca made two changes from the side which lost to Bayern on Wednesday, with Estevao Willian and Wesley Fofana coming in. In terrible conditions in Manchester, the Blues made an awful start to the game and were all over the place in the opening minutes. The poor start culminated in Robert Sanchez being sent off after just four minutes for taking out United forward Bryan Mbeumo. Maresca reacted by taking off Estevao, and then also took off Pedro Neto and went to a back five, a system Chelsea don’t play. Thing got even worse as Cole Palmer was taken off injured after just 20 minutes, and Maresca confirmed after the game the 23-year-old wasn’t 100% fit. Palmer was given a late fitness test ahead of the game, and Leboeuf has labelled the decision not to take him off instead of Neto as insane. “If you have to sacrifice another forward player, you take off Cole Palmer first [who wasn’t at 100% anyway], not Pedro Neto,” he said as quoted on X.com. “That is insane from Enzo Maresca.” Rough afternoon for Chelsea It was a miserable afternoon for the Blues and Maresca, who left many baffled with his choice of substitutions throughout the game. In the second half with the Blues chasing the game, he opted to bring on Tyrique George and Malo Gusto, with summer signings Jamie Gittens and Alejandro Garnacho left on the bench. It was yet another game in which Marc Guiu was unused, and Chelsea will need a response and a return to winning ways against Lincoln in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Josh Acheampong or GTFO

https://www.thechelseachronicle.com/news/wayne-rooney-suggests-54m-man-could-have-made-the-difference-for-Chelsea-in-manchester-united-loss/ Wayne Rooney disagrees with Pedro Neto sub Maresca had to take off at least one attacker so that another goalkeeper could replace Sanchez, but Rooney did not agree with the Chelsea boss‘ decision to substitute Neto after Estevao had already been sacrificed. The United legend thinks the 25-year-old would have brought creativity to this Chelsea side, even with 10 men. Speaking on Match of the Day, Rooney said: “They had no imagination on the pitch, did they? I felt that’s what was missing for Chelsea. “They had a lot of possession going side-to-side second half, but they missed that creativity, which a Cole Palmer or a Neto could bring them. So I think the change was strange, but thankfully, it helped United.”

Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, 25, has informed his advisors he would prefer to join Real Madrid after his summer move to Liverpool collapsed. (Mirror)

also, Fofana was shit he is perma wrecked will never be at an acceptable level again

booooooooooooooooooooooo and fuck off you BlueCo gits