Former Chelsea star, Florent Malouda, has advised the club against terminating the contract of Raheem Sterling.
The Frenchman said the player’s huge wage should not be an issue for the West London club, adding that the player was in form when he signed the deal.
Malouda said that Enzo Maresca’s side must look for the best way possible to manage the England international and bring him back to the squad.
For him, the former Liverpool and Manchester City winger is still a very good player, and the Chelsea boss should find a way to re-integrate him.
The Englishman spent last season on loan at Arsenal but failed to perform at the North London side.
Sterling, a Man City legend, failed to secure a move away this summer.
Speaking with Boyle Sports, Malouda, a former France international, said that Maresca needs to have Sterling on his side.
He stated that talk about Sterling’s wages needs to be ignored, seeing as the club chose to pay him of their own volition.
“The first thing about Raheem Sterling is that he earned this contract through his performances,” he said.
“I don’t like the topic of his wages or the money involved. He earned his contract, and everybody was fine with it.
“Now it’s more about how, as a club, you consider your players and how you bring them back to full confidence.”
Sterling’s contract at Chelsea runs till 2027. The former Southampton winger is the highest-paid player at Stamford Bridge.
He goes home every weekend with the sum of £300,000.
He has been banished from the Blues’ first-team training and has to do his training away from the senior boys.