Raheem Sterling sends strong message to Pep Guardiola over Manchester City minutes

Raheem Sterling has opened up on his frustrations over a lack of regular game time towards the end of his time at Manchester City.

The England international joined Chelsea this summer in a deal worth £50 million to end a seven-year spell with the Premier League champions.

City were believed to be keen on tying Sterling down to a fresh deal as he approached the final year of his contract.

However, a desire to play week-in, week-out in the prime years of his professional career convinced the former Liverpool man to join forces with Thomas Tuchel in west London.

Sterling, who joined Manchester City for £49 million in 2015, won four Premier League titles amongst a host of other domestic silverware during his time at the Etihad Stadium.

The forward formed a crucial part of Pep Guardiola's starting XI in City's landmark 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns and was a key source of goals for the six-time Premier League champions.

However, a reduced role on the pitch and behind-the-scenes disagreements with Guardiola saw Sterling's minutes reduce in his final years at City.

"Everyone wants to feel wanted, football is no different. When you play your heart out, sacrifice some of your kids' birthdays, and then get treated in a certain way, it's disappointing," Sterling told Sky Sports in an interview this week.

There was widespread surprise when the Kingston-born attacker was named in City's starting XI for their Champions League final meeting with Chelsea in 2021.

Sterling largely warmed the bench in the games leading to the final and struggled to produce against a well-drilled Chelsea side that clinched the title.

After starring for England at the European Championships last summer, Sterling was understood to be open to leaving City in search of regular game time.

He added: "Misunderstandings, contracts running down. It was a shame to see how it ended in the end because I had such a great time there (at Manchester City)."

After beginning the previous campaign out of favour, Sterling won his place back in the lineup but was often in and out of the starting XI in what proved to be his final season in Manchester.

"A lot of things came into play, a lot of reasons, but I wasn't complaining," he said. "I was ready to challenge and, as you can see, even with some of the performances I put in, you couldn't guarantee yourself a place so it just didn't make sense to fight a battle you can never win."

Sterling was further quizzed on whether he carries any resentment towards his former club and how they parted ways at the end of seven successful years together.

He said: "As a player, you always want to do your best and help your team, but when you don't think things are going fairly, it's always a disappointment.

"At the time I was fuming, raging, but it's gone, it's in the past and I can only focus on the present, which is now, here at Chelsea, and the opportunity I've got here to go out and showcase my talents once again.