Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling claims his departure from Manchester City left him “fuming” and “raging.”
Sterling, 27, joined Chelsea this summer in a £50 million deal after winning four Premier League titles in seven years at Manchester City.
He only started 23 league games last season and believes his efforts were not rewarded.
“Everyone needs to feel liked, and football is no exception,” Sterling said to Sky Sports.
He says “misunderstandings, contracts running down” were some of the factors behind him leaving City.
“A lot of things came into play, a lot of reasons, but I wasn’t complaining, I was ready to challenge and, as you can see, even with some of the performances I put in, you couldn’t guarantee yourself a place so it just didn’t make sense to fight a battle you can never win,” he added.
Sterling, who scored 131 goals in 339 games for City, says his move to west London was a “blessing in disguise”.
“If you are not happy playing your football you’ve got to look at other options to get that happiness back, and that’s exactly what I have done,” he added.
