Report: Raheem Sterling Verbally Agrees to New 5-Year Contract With Manchester City
Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling is reported to have 'verbally agreed' a new five-year contract with the club that will tie him to the reigning Premier League champions until the summer of 2023.
As things stand, Sterling is due to be out of contract in 2020, a situation which could have made City vulnerable to losing him at the end of this season. Negotiations had previously yielded no agreement until this apparent breakthrough in proceedings.
The news of the 'verbal agreement' comes from Sky Sports, claiming that the two parties reached their understanding 'in the last few days'. As such, the deal will be formally signed 'in the coming weeks'.
This new deal, which is likely to include a pay rise based on previous rumours of the negotiations, promises to keep Sterling in Manchester past his 28th birthday.
Signed from Liverpool in 2015 for what was then a £49m club record fee and a record amount for an English player, Sterling has come on leaps and bounds in the last two years since the arrival of manager Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
He has added a more consistent end product to his game, scoring 23 goals in all competitions last season and beginning the 2018/19 campaign in equally fine form.
Sterling has started eight of City's 10 Premier League games this season, contributing seven combined goals and assists in those appearances. He's also started all three Champions League games so far and provided an assist as a substitute in the Carabao Cup against Oxford.
His most recent City appearance saw a game-winning assist against Tottenham at Wembley on Monday night, skipping past Kieran Trippier to lay the ball on for Riyad Mahrez to slot home the winner.
