Rio Ferdinand slams Chelsea for mistreatment of Raheem Sterling

Joleon Lescott and Rio Ferdinand have both heard via email that Chelsea players are deemed surplus to requirements. These statements come after a long heated debate on social media about the treatment of Chelsea players at the club. 

Under Todd Boehly's direction, the Blues' transfer business is still a contentious subject of conversation. Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah, both academy graduates, were prohibited from training alongside the first team during the preseason in an attempt by the club to take advantage of the Profit and Sustainability Rules pertaining to the sales of domestic players.

“There's nobody delivering that message with any clarity” : Rio Ferdinand

Raheem Sterling's exclusion from the squad for the match to play Manchester City sparked yet more controversy, leading to a statement by his team asking for clarification on his circumstances. During his Rio Presents podcast, Manchester United great Ferdinand talked about the disaster at Chelsea. Lescott and former Chelsea footballer and coach Jody Morris were also there.

Rio Ferdinand said, “I see all the young players, especially in that squad, talk about Raheem, it's like Uncle Raheem. Cole Palmer, the likes of Reece James, it's Uncle Raheem. And he's looked after a lot of these boys, they come to him, so when you kick that guy in the changing room, all of them are going to limp at some point and they aren't going to take it well and you create a problem in your own dressing room.”

The former Manchester United “There's nobody delivering that message with any clarity, and from what I'm hearing he (Sterling) has got no understanding of where his situation lies. He hasn't had anyone in the hierarchy come to him and say: ‘Listen, you're surplus to requirements, we want to get rid of you. And what I'm hearing is that the last conversation that was had was like everything is fine.’ I'm hearing they're getting told (updates) by email and stuff like that. This is wild.”