Sterling, 31, joins Feyenoord until the end of the 2025/26 season. The Jamaican-English winger was released by Chelsea on January 28th after not making a single appearance for the Blues all season.
"As a free agent, I've had, for the first time in a long time, the opportunity to control the next step in my career," Sterling said on the club website.
"I wanted to take my time to speak with clubs and their Head Coaches to better understand the role they envisioned for me and ensure that I can add real value in this next chapter. Having spoken in great detail with CEO Dennis te Kloese and Robin (van Persie), I'm confident that Feyenoord is a place I can be happy and establish myself as a valued member of the team."
Robin van Persie's Feyenoord have been struggling since late October, winning just 6 of their last 19 games across all competitions. Despite the lack of form, they're still in second place in the Eredivisie, 17 points behind leaders PSV.
"Playing abroad is a whole new challenge for me - and one I’m ready to embrace. Honestly, I’m just excited to get started. To Feyenoord and particularly Robin and Dennis, thank you for your patience and professionalism as I navigated this process," Sterling concluded.
Alongside Sterling, Robin van Persie is delighted with the arrival of the 82-time English international.
"Naturally, it’s a fantastic feat that we’ve managed to convince a player of Raheem’s calibre to sign with us. His football resume speaks for itself: he’s a player whose qualities can change the outcome of a game without a doubt, and I am convinced he will turn out to be a valuable addition to the team as we work towards achieving our goals in the second half of this season.”
Bomb squad
Sterling spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Arsenal, where he played 28 games across all competitions. Upon his return to Chelsea, Sterling was named part of the infamous 'Bomb Squad', a group of players who were allowed to leave the club and were frozen out of first-team activities.
According to English reports, Eredivisie rivals Ajax were also interested in signing Raheem Sterling, but were beaten out by their bitter Rotterdam rivals.
Sterling leaves the Premier League 14 years after debuting for Liverpool in 2012. During his time in England, Sterling scored 123 goals in 396 Premier League appearances.
