1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

I would love to know the details of this. No chance he is just giving up that massive wage for nothing, because if it was that easy, he would have left in the summer. No doubt Clear Lake will want to keep this one quiet to try and save face.

Might not be a huge amount to be fair.

We had some leverage on him. His contract ends next summer. At that point he'd stop earning money.

The difference in the wage and sign on he can command today, Vs not playing for another 18 months, is big.

Id have proposed 9 months pay. Spread over 9 years. 1m a year.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

I would love to know the details of this. No chance he is just giving up that massive wage for nothing, because if it was that easy, he would have left in the summer. No doubt Clear Lake will want to keep this one quiet to try and save face.

The club will put out a different narrative, but the reality is Sterling had the club bent over a barrel:

4.15 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players:

15. Terminating a contract with sporting just cause
An established professional who has, in the course of the season, appeared in fewer than ten per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of sporting just cause. Due consideration shall be given to the player’s circumstances in the appraisal of such cases. The existence of sporting just cause shall be established on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, sporting sanctions shall not be imposed, though compensation may be payable. A professional may only terminate his contract on this basis in the 15 days following the last official match of the season of the club with which he is registered.

In other words, he would have been able to move for free this summer regardless of contract status, and we would have had to pay him compensation either way.

A mutual agreement with a substantial golden handshake is likely to have occurred, but it was the best move for the club from a PSR/FFP perspective because it is offset from the CWC/CL revenue recieved this season.

Edited January 29Jan 29 by SydneyChelsea

Sterling was BlueCo’s first ever signing.

His Chelsea career trajectory almost sums up the BlueCo era in a nutshell.

Edited January 29Jan 29 by Jezz

Good Riddance to a player earning top tier wages, without ever being a talent deserving of it.

Always a supporting act player, and whilst i do not blame him for grabbing the salary, I am happy this fraud is gone. He was never a good enough player to carry a team - always better as a back post tap in merchant.

The fact he brazenly and shamelessly hung around to grab the money, putting his bank balance above his career, says a lot about his mindset and priorities.

Poor soul gets to walk away with a decent payout, and the poor diddums will have to settle for a job earning between only £70k-100k per week (I would guess). It's a hard life for Raheem the gun.

1 minute ago, nonotnowjim said:

Good Riddance to a player earning top tier wages, without ever being a talent deserving of it.

Always a supporting act player, and whilst i do not blame him for grabbing the salary, I am happy this fraud is gone. He was never a good enough player to carry a team - always better as a back post tap in merchant.

The fact he brazenly and shamelessly hung around to grab the money, putting his bank balance above his career, says a lot about his mindset and priorities.

Poor soul gets to walk away with a decent payout, and the poor diddums will have to settle for a job earning between only £70k-100k per week (I would guess). It's a hard life for Raheem the gun.

Not that much hanging around: he went on loan last season. To Arsenal's bench, but still. We have to look at the people that thought it was a good idea to buy him.

I simply dont understand why we wouldnt have put him up for sale at 5 million and got something back for him.

Never a chelsea player, didnt want him at the club, but as he was here, he should have played.

Wish him well, the club are just a laughing stock.

15 minutes ago, bluelightening said:

I simply dont understand why we wouldnt have put him up for sale at 5 million and got something back for him.

Never a chelsea player, didnt want him at the club, but as he was here, he should have played.

Wish him well, the club are just a laughing stock.

Wages. Someone needs to buy them out.

No one would touch him thanks to the ingenious bomb squad idea.

On 29/01/2026 at 12:36, nonotnowjim said:

Good Riddance to a player earning top tier wages, without ever being a talent deserving of it.

Always a supporting act player, and whilst i do not blame him for grabbing the salary, I am happy this fraud is gone. He was never a good enough player to carry a team - always better as a back post tap in merchant.

The fact he brazenly and shamelessly hung around to grab the money, putting his bank balance above his career, says a lot about his mindset and priorities.

Poor soul gets to walk away with a decent payout, and the poor diddums will have to settle for a job earning between only £70k-100k per week (I would guess). It's a hard life for Raheem the gun.

Blaming Sterling for the amount of wages we decided to pay him ??

Think that's the fault of someone else Jim ! !

2 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

Blaming Sterling for the amount of wages we decided to pay him ??

Think that's the fault of someone else Jim ! !

I don't disagree. That first transfer window was a shambles.

What I can't condone is a professional footballer - with an extremely finite career - putting a few extra 00s ahead of professional pride.

If the argument was he needs to leave chelsea - and he would struggle to get another club to pay him a reasonable salary, then i would say fine. He deserves to rinse us for every penny. But that is NOT the scenario. In truth he could have left to a club where he would play regularly and STILL earn an astronomical salary that most could never dream of.

i hate it when a player puts money ahead of professional pride and playing time.

40 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

I don't disagree. That first transfer window was a shambles.

What I can't condone is a professional footballer - with an extremely finite career - putting a few extra 00s ahead of professional pride.

If the argument was he needs to leave chelsea - and he would struggle to get another club to pay him a reasonable salary, then i would say fine. He deserves to rinse us for every penny. But that is NOT the scenario. In truth he could have left to a club where he would play regularly and STILL earn an astronomical salary that most could never dream of.

i hate it when a player puts money ahead of professional pride and playing time.

Person maximises potential earnings from short career.

49 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

I don't disagree. That first transfer window was a shambles.

What I can't condone is a professional footballer - with an extremely finite career - putting a few extra 00s ahead of professional pride.

If the argument was he needs to leave chelsea - and he would struggle to get another club to pay him a reasonable salary, then i would say fine. He deserves to rinse us for every penny. But that is NOT the scenario. In truth he could have left to a club where he would play regularly and STILL earn an astronomical salary that most could never dream of.

i hate it when a player puts money ahead of professional pride and playing time.

Jim, I think we've had this discussion before 🙂 None of us has an idea what went or what he was thinking. Also, you rage about him cashing his salary checks as if he's been idle since he signed, which is not the case. He accepted the offer the club made him. He played 2 seasons for us, and went on loan for the 3rd season when he was out of favour because of the club's acquisitions. Many players go on loan when they're out of favour, why would it be different for Sterling? We're halfway through his 4th season, so the time he wasn't playing has been relatively limited. Whenever people rage about his so-called lack of professional pride, the amount of money he makes always gets a mention. The rage of lesser paid players who find themselves in a similar situation is usually somehow more muted. You'd think that this professional pride thing would apply no matter what the salary.

BTW, Val's law of transparency: when people say it's not about the money but about the principle, it's about the money. And probably a splash of envy.

I always saw him in a Liverpool shirt even when he played for us. Never wanted him but kept quiet.

On 29/01/2026 at 08:33, SydneyChelsea said:

The club will put out a different narrative, but the reality is Sterling had the club bent over a barrel:

4.15 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players:

15. Terminating a contract with sporting just cause
An established professional who has, in the course of the season, appeared in fewer than ten per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of sporting just cause. Due consideration shall be given to the player’s circumstances in the appraisal of such cases. The existence of sporting just cause shall be established on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, sporting sanctions shall not be imposed, though compensation may be payable. A professional may only terminate his contract on this basis in the 15 days following the last official match of the season of the club with which he is registered.

In other words, he would have been able to move for free this summer regardless of contract status, and we would have had to pay him compensation either way.

A mutual agreement with a substantial golden handshake is likely to have occurred, but it was the best move for the club from a PSR/FFP perspective because it is offset from the CWC/CL revenue recieved this season.

Wait a second, so this is not some blue co magical negotiation.

3 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

FFP transfer hit now 15mill for what's left.

He should ot be able to find a club as his contract with us is settled so can drop his wage demands to find a club that suits him.

I am not sure that a chunk of his fee won’t have been written off by way of impairment in 24/25. We will need to see what is reflected in the accounts that will be placed in the public domain in a few weeks.

It’s being suggested by others that the likelihood is that a departure will follow and yes I suspect that will be the case. Like others I think it will be George which if is the case will fund the loss

On 29/01/2026 at 00:33, SydneyChelsea said:

The club will put out a different narrative, but the reality is Sterling had the club bent over a barrel:

4.15 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players:

15. Terminating a contract with sporting just cause
An established professional who has, in the course of the season, appeared in fewer than ten per cent of the official matches in which his club has been involved may terminate his contract prematurely on the ground of sporting just cause. Due consideration shall be given to the player’s circumstances in the appraisal of such cases. The existence of sporting just cause shall be established on a case-by-case basis. In such a case, sporting sanctions shall not be imposed, though compensation may be payable. A professional may only terminate his contract on this basis in the 15 days following the last official match of the season of the club with which he is registered.

In other words, he would have been able to move for free this summer regardless of contract status, and we would have had to pay him compensation either way.

A mutual agreement with a substantial golden handshake is likely to have occurred, but it was the best move for the club from a PSR/FFP perspective because it is offset from the CWC/CL revenue recieved this season.

The reference to compensation isn’t in the favour of the player.

When a player terminates his contract other than the balance due in respect of any “ signing on fee “ I am reliably informed that is it in terms of money payable to the player.

6 hours ago, Bob stark said:

Wait a second, so this is not some blue co magical negotiation.

Who said it was?

BlueCo "strategy" seems to be to significantly overpay for most of their player "assets" and then drive the value into the floor for some of them via use of these awful bomb squads .... very odd behaviour on both counts ... and doubly so when the people driving it are simultaneously rewarded with pay rises and contract extensions.

19 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Person maximises potential earnings from short career.

Yep - that seems to be a modern day footballers mindset. Disgusting. I want a player that takes pride in playing, and prioritises output on the pitch over bank balance.

18 hours ago, Valerie said:

Jim, I think we've had this discussion before 🙂 None of us has an idea what went or what he was thinking. Also, you rage about him cashing his salary checks as if he's been idle since he signed, which is not the case. He accepted the offer the club made him. He played 2 seasons for us, and went on loan for the 3rd season when he was out of favour because of the club's acquisitions. Many players go on loan when they're out of favour, why would it be different for Sterling? We're halfway through his 4th season, so the time he wasn't playing has been relatively limited. Whenever people rage about his so-called lack of professional pride, the amount of money he makes always gets a mention. The rage of lesser paid players who find themselves in a similar situation is usually somehow more muted. You'd think that this professional pride thing would apply no matter what the salary.

BTW, Val's law of transparency: when people say it's not about the money but about the principle, it's about the money. And probably a splash of envy.

He chose to hang around the club, refusing to leave permanently.- despite reports of multiple potential buyers and a club (us!) desperate to shift him....but he wouldn't budge. We snuck him out at the last minute to the arse, with us reportedly needing to pay 50% of his salary. Didnt care about moving enough to move to arsenal to take a wage cut did he?

Then he again chose to hang around and collect the free money for half of this season. Didnt care enough about playing to leave.

Shows on the pitch. Half arsed output for a player more interested in collecting money than games. Disgusting for a professional player.

1 hour ago, nonotnowjim said:

He chose to hang around the club, refusing to leave permanently.- despite reports of multiple potential buyers and a club (us!) desperate to shift him....but he wouldn't budge. We snuck him out at the last minute to the arse, with us reportedly needing to pay 50% of his salary. Didnt care about moving enough to move to arsenal to take a wage cut did he?

Then he again chose to hang around and collect the free money for half of this season. Didnt care enough about playing to leave.

Shows on the pitch. Half arsed output for a player more interested in collecting money than games. Disgusting for a professional player.

Again, the wages thing! He was and is well within his rights to make the choices that he did. Why would he conform to the high-minded opinion of strangers that he should have looked for a different employer? The club signed him, the club decided to offer him a high salary, he played for 2 seasons. The club's other employees (the coaches) decided unilaterally not to give him playing time, so he went out on loan. Upon return, he was shunted - again a unilateral decision - to the bomb squad. The club should accept responsibility and blame should not be heaped on Sterling, neither should he be admonished for not behaving like a professional football player by someone who definitely is not a fellow professional.

1 hour ago, Valerie said:

Again, the wages thing! He was and is well within his rights to make the choices that he did. Why would he conform to the high-minded opinion of strangers that he should have looked for a different employer? The club signed him, the club decided to offer him a high salary, he played for 2 seasons. The club's other employees (the coaches) decided unilaterally not to give him playing time, so he went out on loan. Upon return, he was shunted - again a unilateral decision - to the bomb squad. The club should accept responsibility and blame should not be heaped on Sterling, neither should he be admonished for not behaving like a professional football player by someone who definitely is not a fellow professional.

As I have said multiple times - yes, it was his right to sit and collect the salary we stupidly gave him. I just think a professional footballer should have some professional pride and put game time ahead of rotting in the reserves and collecting wages.

Again - it's not as if he couldn't earn an amazing income elsewhere. He just choose to take the easy, lazy option. Much like when he was on the pitch.

7 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

As I have said multiple times - yes, it was his right to sit and collect the salary we stupidly gave him. I just think a professional footballer should have some professional pride and put game time ahead of rotting in the reserves and collecting wages.

Again - it's not as if he couldn't earn an amazing income elsewhere. He just choose to take the easy, lazy option. Much like when he was on the pitch.

Nobody wanted him, Jim! What do you want him to do? Create a video brochure on an exercise bike, Michael Owen style?

Strangely, Ben Chilwell hasn't been chastised for being in the same boat for a good while before his move!

26 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

As I have said multiple times - yes, it was his right to sit and collect the salary we stupidly gave him. I just think a professional footballer should have some professional pride and put game time ahead of rotting in the reserves and collecting wages.

Again - it's not as if he couldn't earn an amazing income elsewhere. He just choose to take the easy, lazy option. Much like when he was on the pitch.

Professional pride is an abstract term, you give it a subjective meaning to support your opinion. You keep blaming Sterling, drawing dollar signs in his eyes without knowing his mind, and have yet to address the behaviour of the owners and the SDs.

Next time you come to my country you will admit I'm right 😏

On 31/01/2026 at 18:22, terraloon said:

The reference to compensation isn’t in the favour of the player.

When a player terminates his contract other than the balance due in respect of any “ signing on fee “ I am reliably informed that is it in terms of money payable to the player.

Correct but following the Diarra ruling, it is unlikely a tribunal/CAS would provide for anything other than nominal compensation (like a season's worth) + the club would need to initiate proceedings against Sterling as future clubs are no longer considered jointly and severally liable for breach of contract compensation.

9 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Correct but following the Diarra ruling, it is unlikely a tribunal/CAS would provide for anything other than nominal compensation (like a season's worth) + the club would need to initiate proceedings against Sterling as future clubs are no longer considered jointly and severally liable for breach of contract compensation.

That’s fair comment.

Sterling would never have triggered the option to end his contract claims” sporting just cause” wish he had.

We still wait for FIFAs response to the Diara ruling will it be in time for the 15 day period come seasons end ?

1 hour ago, terraloon said:

We still wait for FIFAs response to the Diara ruling will it be in time for the 15 day period come seasons end ?

As you said awhile back, it will be like Bosman and probably take years before it has practical effects.

FIFA have already made the main change to mollify clubs (removing joint & several liability). The issues for players are largely procedural, which means someone actually needs to take their case to court to test sufficiency. Diarra had the luxury of being a position where he was able to sit out for 2-3 years, who knows if we'll get a player able to do the same again.