There were four notable omissions when the Chelsea FC Club World Cup roster was released earlier today: Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, Axel Disasi and Ben Chilwell. While it was already kind of common knowledge that Disasi and Chilwell have no future at the club, and thus were been left out, the Sterling and Felix omissions were a bit more newsworthy.
According to various reports, both will be jettisoned by Chelsea this summer transfer window.
Chelsea FC FIFA Club World Cup FYIs
Overall Tournament Preview: go here
Group D Matches:
June 16, 3pm EST, LAFC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
June 20, 2pm EST, Flamengo, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
June 24, 9pm EST, ES Tunis, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
We start with Raheem Sterling, who spent the season on loan with Arsenal, where he failed to score a single league goal in 17 appearances. He also had only two assists in Premier League play this past season.
The 2014 Golden Boy of football and 2018 PFA Young Player of the Year is now 30, and honestly, could be washed. Really.
Extra Time Talk did a fantastic deep dive on the chronology of Sterling’s career, and that is worth a read.
The article mentions that Sterling is drawing interest from the likes of Fenerbahce, Juventus and Saudi Arabia.
Chelsea FC Club World Cup Roster
GOALKEEPERS: Sanchez, Jorgensen, Penders, Slonina
DEFENDERS: Cucurella, Tosin, Badiashile, Colwill, Sarr, Chalobah, James, Gusto, Anselmino, Acheampong
MIDFIELDERS: Enzo, Essugo, Santos, Dewsbury-Hall, Caicedo, Lavia
FORWARDS: Neto, Delap, Palmer, Madueke, Jackson, Nkunku, George, Guiu
Moving on to Felix, Chelsea spent a whopping £45 million, just last year, to acquire him. And now they have given away his shirt number to one of their newer signings, Dario Essugo.
Adding to the “you are through here” messaging, the Essugo official statement published by the club didn’t even bother mentioning Felix.
Felix first signed with Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in a £9m loan deal in January of 2023. It didn’t really work out, but then he went out on loan to FC Barcelona, where he thrived.
Which then led to a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
It seemed like a bit of a strange move at the time, and now seems like a major mistake.
Not sure where he goes next, as the links have not started yet. Of course, transfer rumors have no offseason, so those narratives will be arriving any hour now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter