Tonight, City's FA Cup match against League Two Swindon is a chance for winger Sterling to prove himself, however the 27-year-old is likely to look forward to a break tonight while preparing for next week's home game against Chelsea. Sterling is back in his best form in more than a year as a key player for Guardiola. He started six of his first 17 games of the season and scored eight goals in his last 11, allowing City to start another Premier League title.
Sterling has fallen out of favor since March last year, so much so that he has chosen to suspend contract negotiations with Manchester City, who has considered loans in January, barca and Paris Greater are interested in him, and his future is still hanging in the balance in the last 18 months of the current contract, while Greater Paris manager Pochettino is also a fan of him. Sterling's form makes the contract extension a top priority for the City manager, but he will leave in June 2023 if the two sides do not agree on new contract terms.
Sterling hopes to one day play abroad, but so far he hasn't decided where his next contract will be signed. Even Guardiola concede Barca's proposal, and real madrid fall into that category for a player determined to end his career with as many medals and honours as possible. One of Sterling's ambitions was to win the Ballon d'Or, although he only finished 15th in the November poll.
During Sterling's departure from the game, both the players and the coach were impressed by his performance in training, which helped him regain the trust of the Manchester City manager. Guardiola said Sterling deserves everyone's praise as he regains his form. Sterling began to believe that he could only play better when he scored.
Guardiola believes Sterling is returning to the level he has scored 31 goals in 52 games. His goals weren't enough to stop Liverpool from winning the league that year, but this time, his performance before the goal coincided with City's 11 consecutive wins and a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Guardiola recently told the media: "The last 3 weeks, one month, was one of the best moments he's had on the pitch in the last year or a year and a half and now he's back and I have a good impression of him. I hadn't seen him in a long time. Even at the lows of his life over the past 12 months, Sterling's attitude has never been questioned.
Sterling's return, along with the appearance of 19-year-old Cole Palmer, prompted City to accept a request from Ferran Torres to move to Barca, even though City faced stiff competition in three games in the second half of the season. In the absence of a recognized striker, Sterling, Phil Foden and Jack Glalish had to adapt to the replacement No. 9 in Guardiola's tactical system, especially Sterling, who spent a lot of time on the training ground trying to become more familiar with the role.
City are still planning to sign a striker in the summer, preferably Tottenham's Harry Kane or Borussia Dortmund's Haaland, but Sterling has decided to play as many games as he can, whatever his role, and whether he can play properly will be a key factor when he makes a final decision about his future. When he does, Europe's big clubs will be waiting in line for him and Sterling is back.