Pep wants Sterling to stay and fight for Man City future

Pep Guardiola & Raheem Sterling

Pep Guardiola says he wants Raheem Sterling to fight for his place at Manchester City after the frustrated forward admitted he "would be open" to leaving the Premier League champions.

England forward Sterling has been with City since 2015, when he moved from Liverpool, and has won three Premier League titles with the club. However, Sterling, 26, has made just two league starts this season, struggling with his form and fierce competition from attacking stars including Phil Foden and club record signing Jack Grealish.

Speaking at the FT Business of Sport US Summit on Thursday, Sterling, who has been linked with a loan move to Barcelona, said: "If there was the opportunity to go somewhere else [for more game time], I would be open to it at this moment in time."

But Guardiola told reporters on Friday that he wanted Sterling to stay. "Raheem is our player and will hopefully be an incredibly important player for us," he said. "Some players want to play all the time but I can't assure them of that. What I want from Raheem and everyone is for them to be happy."

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