Real Madrid has declared its intention to land rising winger Raheem Sterling, presently part of the Manchester City roster. The Los Blancos will reportedly send in Gareth Bale on top of £70 million for the reigning Premier League champion to release Sterling and send him to Santiago Bernabeu.
The 24-year-old Sterling flourished even more after his transfer from Liverpool. In Manchester, the forward has so far scored 17 goals in 19 appearances, making him a target not only in England but also in Europe.
Real's move has been tagged by club executives as urgent, presumably to preempt the higher cost to pay for a blockbuster transfer. According to Metro, Sterling is only seen to increase in valuation over the next 12 months, indicating that his current worth of £150 million could jump considerably.
It will be recalled that the La Liga giants have made attempts to bring Sterling to the Spanish side, but the negotiations fell through.
Now, the deal coming from the Bernabeu side will include Bale, supposedly to convince City to sign an agreement. However, Manchester has no plans of opening the door for the Welsh superstar to make his way back to the Premier League, per the same report.
On his part, Sterling has earlier stated that his immediate plans do not include an exit from Manchester or jumping to a new league from England, The Daily Mail reported.
"Looking at it now it's like, Manchester, I love it. I love it here. This is one of the best clubs in the world and I'm here for the long haul," the City forward, who still has three years to go on his current contract, was reported as saying.
However, he allowed that things could change, saying too that "you just don't know what happens in the future. I'm still young and, like I say, I am loving every minute."
It was understood that Real's decision to make known the club's deep interest in Sterling was due to an earlier discussion with a representative of the Englishman. Supposedly, the Spanish club was given the impression that the young winger has plans to switch club or league later in his career, The Sun reported.
Real Madrid is banking on the likelihood that Sterling can be rushed to make the decision in the coming months and that Bernabeu could prove attractive enough.
As expected, though, City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly unwilling to part ways with Sterling. The Spanish boss is said to be making it difficult for the winger to leave by giving him a weekly salary of £450,000 as a counteroffer to Real's overtures.
