Raheem Sterling recently spoke openly about the possibility of leaving Manchester City in the near future, saying he would be open to a move away from the Premier League champions if that meant securing regular game-time. Barcelona have been mentioned as one of his potential suitors.
Sterling has lost his place in the starting XI under Pep Guardiola, and there have been reports suggesting a rift between the player and the manager may be one of the reasons behind his fall down the pecking order. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time something like that occurred in his career; his spat with Brendan Rodgers, currently the boss at Leicester City with whom Sterling worked at Liverpool, has been well documented, though admittedly, Sterling was only 17 at the time.
As reported by Spanish outlet Marca, City have set their price for the services of the 26-year-old winger at €80 million, and that might rule Barcelona out of the race for his signature for the time being.
Barcelona tried to sign defender Eric Garcia from City in 2020, when the young Spaniard had 12 months left on his contract, which will be the case with Sterling next summer. However, City refused to discuss reducing their demand for Garcia, and Barcelona were forced to wait a year, even though it meant City giving up on a fee altogether. If that situation is anything to go by, the Catalans will be aware that City are likely to stand firm in their valuation again.
Barcelona are known to be in a difficult financial situation, and paying €80m for one player seems to be out of their reach at the moment.
