Raheem Sterling rejected by the worst team in Ligue 1

The 31-year-old has endured a dramatic fall from grace since leaving Man City for Chelsea in 2022. One of the first major signings of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital era at Stamford Bridge, Sterling proved a monumental flop.

Signed for almost €60 million and made one of the best-paid players at the club, the former England star effectively only played for the Blues for two seasons, featuring in just over 5,300 minutes across 81 appearances. Deemed surplus to requirements by Enzo Maresca, Sterling found himself in Chelsea's now-infamous "Bomb Squad" in the summer of 2024 and joined Arsenal on a last-minute season-long loan.

He failed to impress in North London and returned to the Blues. After not securing a transfer in 2025 and spending half a year training individually or with the reserves - sometimes late in the evening - Sterling had his contract terminated and joined Feyenoord in February.

After eight appearances and zero goals, he was released this summer. During the transfer window, Sterling yet again failed to complete a move, although this isn't the end of the world for a free agent.

He can still sign for a club now, albeit certain registration restrictions, such as for European competitions, apply. The reluctance from clubs to sign Sterling is perhaps understandable, as he finds himself embroiled in ongoing legal issues after crashing his car in May.

Earlier this month, the 31-year-old pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and possessing nitrous oxide. Sterling reportedly does not want to return to England for now or move to Major League Soccer.

Finding a club willing to take him on board is proving very difficult, however. According to Foot Mercato, two teams from Ligue 1 have rejected the chance to sign the Englishman on a Bosman transfer.

While one of the clubs remains undisclosed, the other was apparently Le Havre, who currently find themselves at rock bottom in the French standings after a dire start to the season. The Normandy club are the only side in the top flight to be winless through five games, with even chaos-stricken and cash-strapped Marseille having managed to win at least once already.

Le Havre have drawn two of their matches and lost the other three. Sterling is well aware that he has to "make a colossal financial sacrifice to find a competitive project," but it increasingly looks as though he might not find such a project in Europe.