Premier League winning striker Alan Shearer is not pleased with how Chelsea have treated Raheem Sterling.
Sterling arrived at Stamford Bridge in July 2022, and a player of his calibre is one which is expected to be a major part of the squad considering the success he enjoyed at Manchester City.
However, two days before Chelsea's opening game against City on Sunday, Sterling was told that he will not be part of the matchday squad and this as a result has brought more unwanted chaos for new manager Enzo Maresca.
The tensions between Maresca and Sterling have since increased with the Italian omitting the winger from his squad in Thursday's win over Servette in a UEFA Europa Conference League qualifier.
Speaking to Betfair, Shearer criticised the way in which Chelsea is handling the situation and why it will not help their chances of selling Sterling for a reasonable fee before the summer transfer window comes to a close in seven days' time.
"I’m not a big fan of what’s happened to Raheem Sterling, I think it’s very disrespectful. He may not have had a great season last season, which is fine, but there’s still a way to treat people and understand players’ needs. There’s a way to sell players," Shearer began.
"It’s just bizarre what’s going on at Chelsea. You see the Conor Gallagher situation when he left on the plane to go to Atletico [Madrid] on the proviso someone else was coming over, they tried to sign Samu Omorodion, but then that deal was off, and Gallagher then had to come back to Chelsea.
"Suddenly, they didn't want a centre forward, and they thought ‘okay, we’ll go back and see if we can do a deal with Joao Felix’, and Gallagher had to hang around until that deal was done before he could head back to Atletico.
"In the meantime, Chelsea tell Raheem Sterling that he’s no longer wanted and he has to find himself a football club, which is fine, that’s the way it goes in football sometimes - a coach comes in and doesn’t fancy you, that happens.
"But, telling someone two days before the season starts that they are not going to be involved, and giving someone just over a week to find a football club, it’s very, very disrespectful. It’s not the right way to treat a professional."
Chelsea will be hoping performances on the pitch can divert attention from off the field matters when they travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers this coming Sunday in the Premier League.
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