Manchester City willing to let go of Raheem Sterling for £45m amid Barcelona links: Report

Raheem Sterling has been linked with an exit from Manchester City, with Barcelona touted as a potential destination. These rumours have intensified over the past few weeks. The reports come on the back of Sterling's lack of playing time at Man City under Pep Guardiola.

Since the arrival of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa this summer, Sterling has fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad. And now based on reports, it seems like Manchester City are ready to let go of Sterling, and have reportedly set an asking price for him.

According to a report from Metro, City are ready to listen to offers for Sterling in the winter transfer window and could possibly charge more. However, there will be only 12 months left on Sterling's contract at the end of this season, and City could lower the asking price to £45 million - £50 million as a result. A few weeks back, Sterling expressed his desire to play elsewhere, as he said that he was open to an opportunity of more playing time at a different club.

"If there was an opportunity to go somewhere else I would be open to this at this point in time. Football is the most important thing to me." Sterling told the FT Business of Sport US Summit.

Guardiola on Sterling's potential move to Barcelona

Raheem Sterling has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona and recently, Pep Guardiola was questioned about the rumours surrounding Sterling's future at the Etihad. However, the Spanish coach did not divulge much information. Nevertheless, he added that there is not much that can be done to stop Barcelona if they intended to acquire the services of a player, referring to the Catalan giants' pulling capacity.

Guardiola indirectly meant that not even massive financial debt and the poor form of theirs could stop them from landing the player they target. However, it will be interesting to see if Barcelona go after Sterling in the winter or if they wait and try to buy him in the summer transfer window when he would be available for a cut-price.

Image: AP