Raheem Sterling rejected major Champions League club to stay at Chelsea

Raheem Sterling had the chance to sign for Bayern Munich (Getty)

Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling rejected the chance to join Bayern Munich in the closing stages of the summer transfer window, according to reports.

Sterling, who spent last season on loan at Arsenal, has been left out of Enzo Maresca’s squad since the summer and has been training separately from the first team.

Last week, it emerged that The Professional Footballers’ Association has contacted Chelsea over their handling of Sterling after the winger revealed he was training at 8.21pm in the evening.

According to The Athletic, Sterling was offered a late escape route as Bayern enquired about the 30-year-old during their negotiations to sign Nicolas Jackson on loan.

However, the report claims that Sterling turned down Bayern’s approach as he was reluctant to move his family to Germany, or be away for them for a significant period of time.

Raheem Sterling posted a bleak update on his situation at Chelsea last week (Instagram)

Speaking last week, Bayern head coach, Vincent Kompany, said his bond will ‘always remain’ with Sterling after the pair won six major trophies during their four years together at Manchester City.

‘It’s a tough one because on the one hand I have a lot of respect for Enzo [Maresca] and my colleagues at Chelsea. I understand it’s not easy to make a decision as a coach,’ Kompany said.

‘On the other hand, Raheem is one of my former teammates and that bond always remains.

‘It’s funny because last year I had Leroy Sane here as well and those two were devastating in the Premier League when they were part of the team I was part of.

‘The only thing I can hope at this age, because he’s still at a good age, is that he can turn it around and show the whole world what his quality is and eventually be in a situation where everything fits for him and he fits for where he is, and hopefully that can happen sometime soon for him and I wish him all the best.’

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