Chelsea sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City in £45m deal in first transfer of Todd Boehly era

Chelsea have signed Raheem Sterling in a £45 million deal from Manchester City.

The England international, 27, joins Chelsea after winning four Premier League titles in seven years with City.

He scored 13 goals in 30 league appearances last season, but was entering into the final year of his contract.

He is the first signing under new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly. His move comes in the same week that City signed midfielder Kalvin Phillips and sold Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was reportedly keen to keep Sterling, who made 339 appearances for the club, but could not give him assurances over playing time.

Although Sterling made 23 Premier League starts last season, he was on the bench for both legs of the Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid and the final game of the season against Aston Villa.

He bolsters Chelsea’s attack after striker Romelu Lukaku returned to Inter Milan on a loan deal.

Sterling joined Manchester City from Liverpool in 2015. As well as four Premier League titles he also won the Carabao Cup four times and the FA Cup once.

After leaving City, Sterling said in an interview on the Chelsea website that he had “so much more to achieve and I’m really looking forward to doing that in a Chelsea shirt.”

He continued: “London is my home and where it all started for me, and it’s amazing I now have the opportunity to play in front of friends and family week in, week out at Stamford Bridge.”

City were also Champions League runners-up after losing to Chelsea in the final in 2021.

The Blues are expected to confirm the arrival of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli either later on Wednesday or on Thursday.