New Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has won over his new club’s fanbase early doors in his career at Stamford Bridge after he refused to sign a Manchester City shirt whilst engaging with fans on the Blues’ pre-season tour in America.
In a new video, Sterling can be seen signing autographs and posing for photos with supporters eager to gain a glimpse of Chelsea’s new star signing.
When one spectator presented the England forward with a Manchester City shirt to sign, Sterling paused briefly before ignoring the garment and moving onto more photos.
Cheers could be heard from the Chelsea fans in attendance – Sterling clearly pleasing the Blues supporters with his rejection just days after his move from City.
Chelsea are currently in the States for pre-season and got their preparation for the new Premier League season underway with a 2-1 victory over Club America in the early hours of this morning.
Timo Werner and Mason Mount were on the scoresheet and, despite a comical own goal from Reece James, the Blues got their tour off to the ideal start.
Sterling was the only player engaging with fans in the video, which now has nearly 90,000 views on TikTok and over one million views on Twitter.
Fans reacted to the video on Reddit, with some mocking Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku, who expressed his desire to return to former club Inter Milan whilst still a Chelsea player last season.
His relationship with fans and the club deteriorated, and the Belgian did rejoin Inter on loan earlier this window.
One user commented: ‘Lukaku would have signed, put it on and kiss[ed] the badge’, and received 17 upvotes for the gag.
Others questioned the motive and rules behind the exchange, with one user asking: ‘Why do people keep doing this to players that have just transferred? Is it just for the clicks the video will get?’
Another commented: ‘I’m not sure if players are allowed to sign merchandise that isn’t that of their employers.’
Chelsea will continue their tour when they face Charlotte on Thursday morning at the Bank of America Stadium.