Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has provided a surprisingly candid update on his future at the Etihad Stadium.
While the winger has been central to City being the dominant force in English football in recent years, as of late he has slowly started to slip down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium.
Sterling can offer something different to the team with his searing speed and dribbling ability, although towards the end of last season manager Pep Guardiola preferred to use Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva in the wide positions.
The addition of Jack Grealish to City's ranks has led to even more competition on the flanks, as has the manager's decision to start using Gabriel Jesus on the right side.
It means Sterling is far from guaranteed minutes at the moment and despite his strong ties with City, he said on Thursday that he would be open to a transfer if the money was right.
"If there was an opportunity to go somewhere else, (for more game time), I would be open to it at this moment in time," he told the FT Business of Sport US summit.
"As I said, football is the most important thing to me - challenges that I have set myself from a young age and dreams as well, to play abroad. As an English player all I know is the Premier League and I have always had something down (in me) that maybe one day I would love to play abroad to see how I would come up against that challenge."
Sterling's comments sparked a significant reaction from City fans on social media, although there was far from a common voice when assessing a potential departure.
The England international has been at City since 2015 and in that time he has won the Premier League title on three occasions.
Still only 26, Sterling is arguably in the peak years of his career and showed he can perform at the highest level in the summer when he excelled for England at the European Championships.
Based on these latest comments and the fact Sterling's contract is due up at City in 2023, the prospect of him leaving the club feels increasingly likely.
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