Sterling's Chelsea exile lands him at Feyenoord, forcing an unusual cross-border training camp in Belgium due to visa issues.
The last few months of Raheem Sterling's career have been far from his best. The footballer who shone for Liverpool and Manchester City had been suspended at Chelsea for six months by Enzo Maresca's decision, and finally got the chance to leave after a conversation with the new manager, Liam Rosenior.
However, his new destination does not come without its difficulties either, as the English winger became a Feyenoord player in the Netherlands, and his arrival forced the team to change countries to integrate him into their training sessions.
The unusual situation is that Sterling does not yet have a visa to "work" in the Netherlands, and Robin van Persie, the Dutch club's manager, found a solution by taking the entire team from Rotterdam to train in Belgium, just under 150 kilometers away across the border.
REUTERS"We're going away for a day and a half or two; it's not that far, we're not going to Mexico. We're doing it for him and to work on our team's development. It allows us time to talk and have some fun together," Van Persie explained about the curious measure to include Sterling in the squad, although he also acknowledged it will be some time before he dons the club's jersey.
"He's been working with us since Tuesday, and it will be a while before he's ready. That seems logical to me, since he hasn't played in six months," the manager explained about the 31-year-old winger whose last match was on May 25, 2025, for Arsenal, at the end of last Premier League season.
Interestingly, Sterling is the seventh-most-capped player in history under Pep Guardiola, the fourth-highest goalscorer, only behind Messi, Haaland, and Aguero, and the fifth-highest assist provider with the Spaniard on the sidelines. In the Netherlands, he will seek to restart his career if he can sort everything out to be able to play.
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