Man City have wrapped up their first major transfer of the summer with Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling completing a £49m move to the Etihad Stadium.
The 20-year-old winger has signed a five-year deal with the club and will wear the number seven shirt.
The £49m fee makes him the most expensive English player of all time, surpassing the £35m that Liverpool paid Newcastle for striker Andy Carroll in 2011.
Man City will pay an initial £44m for Raheem Sterling with £5m in add-ons
image: bbc.co.uk
He also becomes Man City’s record signing, which was previously held by Sergio Aguero when he joined from La Liga side Atletico Madrid for £38.1m in 2011.
In a statement on the club’s website, manager Manuel Pellegrini believes Sterling is one the best players in the world and cannot wait to see him playing in a Man City jersey.
“Raheem Sterling is one of the best attacking players in world football,” said the 61-year-old.
“I am very much looking forward to him joining our squad out in Australia later this week.
“He is a young player with outstanding ability, and I am sure the Manchester City fans will be very excited about seeing him in action for the team.”
Liverpool signed Sterling as a 15-year-old from QPR (who will receive £9m as part of the deal) in February 2010 and he made 129 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, scoring 23 goals.
My thoughts
I think Liverpool are better off with Raheem Sterling and I believe they are the real winners here. Sterling had a great couple of seasons at Liverpool since his senior debut in 2012, but no way is he worth £49m.
Although I think he has the potential to become a great player at Man City, they definitely overpaid for him. Man City were in desperate need of right-winger and I think Sterling will slot straight into the starting line-up. He could become one of the best wingers in the Premier League.
