UNBELEIVABLE: Raheem Sterling declined a staggering £650,000-per-week transfer in favor of joining Arsenal

Raheem Sterling has departed Chelsea to join Premier League rivals Arsenal on loan for the season. It has been disclosed that the forward declined a substantial transfer offer from Saudi Arabia.

Raheem Sterling declined a remarkable £650,000-per-week offer from Saudi Arabia to join Arsenal on loan from Chelsea.

The extraordinary package for the 29-year-old England winger would have more than quadrupled his current weekly salary of £300,000. However, Sterling refrained from agreeing to a transfer to Arsenal and prioritised the Gunners’ pursuit of a championship over financial compensation. Additionally, he maintains his own, long-term aspirations to reintegrate into the Three Lions for the 2026 World Cup.

Throughout the capital on Friday evening, Sterling’s solicitors and representatives deliberated on the dramatic late loan transaction. He is now considered a critical component of the Mikel Arteta squad, which is anticipated to make another run at the Premier League title.

Mirror Football can now confirm that he declined the Saudi interest two days prior to the commencement of negotiations between Chelsea and Arsenal. The situation began to worsen at the beginning of last week, a mere ten days after Enzo Maresca, the new Blues manager, publicly and privately declared that Sterling would never return to the club.

Chelsea faced the possibility of being obligated to pay his £27 million annual salary for the next three years while he trained independently. It also constituted a significant U-turn from Maresca, who had previously stated that “he is one of our important players…the important thing is we give him minutes and he is doing well” and had played him in every game of the club’s pre-season tour this summer.

Sterling, Millie Bright, and captain Enzo Fernandez were prominently featured in the club’s new sleeve sponsorship. His “leadership role” was lauded in a piece on their website, which was titled “Raheem Sterling Interview: A positive influence and setting standards.”

Sterling made it abundantly plain in the showdown talks that Chelsea would be responsible for either covering the remaining three years of his £70 million contract or securing him a new club following their U-turn.

The Blues’ executives subsequently spent the next few days contacting clubs in an effort to identify one that could accommodate the financial package they had enthusiastically characterised as a “bargain” upon Sterling’s arrival from City in 2022. Sterling, who had been informed to train away from the squad, was given a packed lunch, and shorn of his shirt number. He then deferred to Chelsea to resolve the dilemma they had erected.

Chelsea presented him with the interest of a Saudi club, which has yet to be identified, on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, there are indications that the club had been cultivating interest in the Middle East for some time prior to that. Nevertheless, Sterling refused to be coerced into a decision that would have been interpreted as a surrender of his England career.

Sterling’s determination to demonstrate his value in north London is unwavering, as he has assisted City in winning four Premier League titles, five League Cups, the FA Cup, and the Champions League, as well as guiding England to the final of the 2020 European Championship. He was commencing his third season under his fifth manager at Chelsea, a volatile organisation where approximately 40 players had been recruited in the span of two years.

He is now poised to join the ranks of numerous elite players who have demonstrated their sustained excellence in other venues after being rejected by the Blues. Since departing the Blues, Arsenal’s midfielders Kai Havertz and Jorginho have both contributed to the team’s title pursuit.

Matteo Kovacic, an additional midfielder, contributed to Pep Guardiola’s City’s championship last season. Kovacic scored the winning goal against his former club in the opening game of this season by effortlessly navigating past Chelsea’s restructured midfield, which had been worth £225 million.

Sterling, like those athletes, continues to exhibit ambition and a desire to succeed. He will now be able to relish the stability that could potentially lead to a positive future in his career.