Thomas Tuchel is not sure whether to blame Raheem Sterling for the state of his career.

“I’m not sure how much is his fault, sometimes you just enter a strange spiral in your life, a downward spiral,” the England manager said of the 31-year-old, who signed for Tuchel at Chelsea in 2022 and is now without a club.

The sympathy was personal as much as professional.

“I have a lot of sympathy for him and I feel that he has struggled ever since he left Man City and he was at the peak of his career,” Tuchel said.

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“It’s sad to see that someone struggles because he was a devoted father for his children and he was a family guy, a nice guy to be around.”

The transfer Tuchel pushed for

Sterling arrived at Stamford Bridge for a reported £47.5m in the summer of 2022, and Tuchel took personal ownership of the move.

“I was fighting for this transfer and he could never prove the importance that he normally had,” Tuchel said. “It was a big step for him at that moment in time.”

The forward never rediscovered the level that had delivered four Premier League titles and 123 top-flight goals at Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. A loan at Arsenal in 2024-25 produced little, and Chelsea and Sterling severed ties by mutual agreement on 29 January 2026.

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A short-term move to Feyenoord in February was meant to restart him under head coach Robin van Persie. It did not. Sterling managed only 333 minutes of Eredivisie action in the Netherlands, failed to nail down a starting spot and left when the Dutch club ruled out an extension at the end of the 2025-26 season.

A court case still open

Behind Tuchel’s remarks is a legal process that has not run its course. Sterling pleaded guilty on 15 September at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court to dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide and failing to provide a specimen, after a single-vehicle crash on the M3 southbound near Farnborough on 28 May. Officers found six nitrous oxide canisters in his Lamborghini.

He has been disqualified from driving pending the next stage of the case.

Sterling was not part of the squad Tuchel took to third place at the 2026 World Cup, England’s best finish since 1966, which was sealed with a 6-4 win over France in the bronze match on 18 July.

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“Thoughts are with him, of course,” Tuchel said. “The belief is always that he can turn it around and I wish him the best.”

Sterling is due back at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on 25 November.

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