Raheem Sterling's Chelsea future hangs in the balance after an incendiary statement from the player's camp and the attacker's actions have been described as 'pathetic' by a legend at one of his former clubs.
The 29-year-old joined the Stamford Bridge club in the summer of 2022 for £47.5 million from Manchester City, following several years of success at the Etihad Stadium, including four Premier League titles.
Sterling has 19 goals in 81 games for Chelsea since joining on a five-year deal, though his move to the London club has coincided with an extraordinary recruitment policy under new co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly.
Sterling has three years remaining on his Chelsea contract but there are question marks over his Stamford Bridge future.
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There are more than 40 senior players on the Blues' books currently and some of them, including Sterling and Ben Chilwell, are training away from the main group that remain in Maresca's plans.
Sterling was not named in the matchday squad for Chelsea's Premier League opener last weekend against City, and before kick-off an extraordinary and controversial statement emerged from Sterling's camp to criticise that decision by Maresca.
The statement read: "He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend's fixture in some capacity.
"As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem's future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.
"Until then, we will continue to support Raheem's desire to start the new season positively."
The statement has prompted debate and discussion - and one Liverpool legend has branded the attacker's actions as 'pathetic'.
Mark Lawrenson - who won five league titles and European Cup with the Anfield club during the 1980s - has slammed both the player for the statement and Chelsea for their transfer policy and the sheer number of senior players they have on their books, though he has sympathy for Maresca.
He told Paddy Power: "Raheem Sterling should have knocked on the manager's door at Chelsea and gone to speak to him, man to man, and explained how he feels, rather than his people putting out a statement, which was pathetic.
"In fairness to Enzo Maresca, I think he was hung out to dry by the hierarchy. They all need to start speaking because they are putting the manager under so much pressure, and they’ve got him doing all their dirty work for them – the whole thing is poor from Chelsea and the club is just a mess.
"The other day the manager said how he doesn’t have 42 players, he’s only got 24 players with the rest training with the under 21s, which just shows how much of a state the club is in currently."
Sterling joined Liverpool in 2010 from QPR's academy and scored 23 goals in 129 games at the Merseyside club, before leaving for City in 2015 for £44 million.
Topics: Enzo Maresca, Chelsea, Raheem Sterling, Liverpool
John McDougall