PFA told to abandon fight with Chelsea, Raheem Sterling shouldn’t get his own way
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) have been told to abandon their fight with Chelsea over the treatment of Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi.
It emerged last week that PFA had contacted Chelsea over the treatment of the outcast pair, who are training apart from the main group.
Sterling and Disasi are part of Enzo Maresca’s bomb squad, after failing to find moves away from Stamford Bridge during the transfer window.
There have been questions asked about whether the West London club should be treating their own players in this way.
However, Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that the PFA should not be getting involved in this sort of issue, as Chelsea have made the decision based entirely on performance.
Raheem Sterling must accept consequences of poor performances
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that he has no sympathy for Sterling regarding his current situation, especially when he is on £300,000 per week.
The former England international has never had a look-in under Maresca and spent the entirety of last season on loan at Arsenal.
Wyness added that Sterling has to accept that the manager doesn’t fancy him, and just sit there and accept his wage every week.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think the club’s perfectly entitled to do this. And I find it very hard to have sympathy when Raheem’s on £300,000 a week and he isn’t performing at the standard he was supposed to, to justify that sort of wage bill.
“Look, I don’t see anything wrong with it. I mean, the case that the PFA is trying to make about mental distress, and under FIFA rules, they reckon they can terminate contracts because it’s harmful to them and it’s affecting them.
“I’m afraid that to me, that’s rubbish, and I think the PFA are very poor in taking on this sort of fight. There should be other things that the PFA should be getting involved in.
“Football is a game about performance. “We’ve all seen how competitive the Premier League is now, and world football can be. You’ve got to be at the top level now.
“If you’re not performing at that level, and you’ve been happy enough to accept the contract from Chelsea, then I’m afraid you’ve got to accept it if the manager doesn’t like you. You’ve got to sit there and get your wage every week.”
Sterling to pass up on Chelsea exit option
Meanwhile, Celtic can only sign Sterling from Chelsea if they can cover his eye-watering wages, sources have told Football Insider.
The ex-Manchester City and Liverpool star’s high salary at Stamford Bridge put off several clubs during the summer window.
Football Insider exclusively revealed on 20 September that Sterling could head to Celtic to be reunited with former manager Brendan Rodgers.
However, sources say that the Hoops are not in the financial position to be able to cover the former England international’s wages, and he is not willing to take a pay cut.
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