Raheem Sterling wants to play for Real Madrid – but Man City are confident he’ll sign a new contract
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RAHEEM STERLING has ambitions to play for Real Madrid but he remains likely to commit his immediate future to Manchester City, according to reports.
The in-form England winger is quickly cementing his reputation as one of the world's best following another sensational start to the season.
Pep Guardiola and the club are keen to reward him with a lucrative extension to his current contract that expires in the summer of 2023.
Sterling, 24, last signed a contract in November 2018 to take his wages up to around £280,000-a-week.
Now he's set for another rise as City become aware of Real Madrid's interest.
According to journalist Alex Kay-Jelski, club chiefs from the Bernabeu met with Sterling's representatives over the summer where they were told the player has an interest in moving in the future.
He also revealed how Sterling is happy to remain at the Etihad for now but it won't deter Real Madrid from plotting a sensational move next summer.
City will respond by offering him a new deal and Alex writes how they expect him to sign on the dotted line.
If he does pen a new deal, it will only increase his current transfer value which is bound to be pushing on Neymar's £198million fee when he moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.
Former Chelsea defender Ashley Cole believes Sterling can go on to become one of England's greatest all-time players.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, he said: "Raheem can become one of the world’s best.
“If he keeps assisting and scoring goals, keeps winning trophies, he can be one of the best players in English history.
“You can see that in his game. His runs are better, his movements are better.
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“He’s always on the move, turning and running at defenders, something which someone with his pace should be doing on a regular basis.
“He just maybe didn’t have that at Liverpool but now he is popping up with an end product, scoring goals that are vitally important.
“I always felt he was capable of this. He had all the attributes to do it, but probably needed a bit of tweaking, which Pep Guardiola has seen — and taken the time to do it.
“He’s probably the first name on the team sheet now.”
