In a recent episode of Sky Sports, renowned pundit Neville gave an insight into the behavior of Chelsea's Sterling, suggesting that Sterling's recent actions may have been a statement for teammates Gallagher and Chalobah.
Neville began by speaking highly of Sterling's personal qualities, stating, "Raheem (Sterling) is a very good lad and I like him a lot. I've worked with him for a long time, he's got a lot of experience and I have a very high opinion of him." Neville then turned the conversation to Sterling's recent unusual moves, speculating that there may be a deeper reason behind why Sterling chose this time to make his statement.
"I think Sterling must have seen something he didn't like and he felt he needed to stand up and fight back." Neville analyzed, "He may have been speaking up for himself, but it's more likely that he was speaking up for two of his teammates, Gallagher and Chalobah." He further explained that Gallagher bravely picked up the burden of Chelsea captaincy in the absence of Reece James but now faces a possible move to Atletico Madrid, while Chalobah is in an even tougher position, having been left out of Chelsea's pre-season tour squad, and even ejected from the first-team training ground.
"Sterling probably felt it was his responsibility as a teammate to let people know what was going on here." Neville continued, "He was probably thinking, 'I've got to let people know what's going on here and the only thing I can do now is tell people where I am myself.' So he chose such an unusual way to make his position known."
