Man City are adopting Sir Alex Ferguson's best Man United philosophy with Raheem Sterling sale

All good things must come to an end and Raheem Sterling's time at Manchester City has been fantastic.

It may well finish as something of a damp squib after he slid down Pep Guardiola's pecking order, but when Sterling completes his imminent departure to Chelsea he will do so with his name firmly secure in the City history books. He arrived at the Etihad extremely talented but raw, inconsistent and more focused on fancy flicks than efficient moves. In Manchester, he has matured into a ruthless goal scorer and a real leader.

Some 131 goals and 94 assists in 337 appearances is a fantastic return and he will leave the club having played integral roles in four Premier League title wins, five Carabao Cup triumphs and an FA Cup victory. Sterling was a sublime signing for City, so much so that it's difficult to believe there was so much backlash when they splashed £50million to get him from Liverpool in 2015. But now is the right time for him to leave.

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While still an excellent player, Sterling hasn't been Guardiola's first pick for the left-wing position for some time now, with Phil Foden coming in and shining in the position. It's also £100million signing Jack Grealish's best role so it's understandable that Sterling can't be given the assurances of playing time he desires. With Riyad Mahrez holding it down on the right, Bernardo Silva capable of playing there and the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, competition is fierce in attacking positions.

The fact that City feel comfortable in selling Sterling after allowing Gabriel Jesus to leave not only shows how confident they are in their current options but also that they know