Rio Ferdinand has torn into Chelsea for their treatment of Raheem Sterling after he was unexpectedly dropped for their 2-0 Premier League defeat by Manchester City.

Sterling's camp exclusively revealed to Mail Sport on Sunday that he was 'seeking clarity' over his future and that his exclusion was a bolt out of the blue. 

Ferdinand has warned Chelsea bosses about the dangers of treating an 'uncle' figure in such a 'wild 'way.

He also claimed Sterling's treatment was part of a wider apathetic trend at Stamford Bridge of players finding out key information over email rather than in person.

'I see all the young players, especially in that squad, talk about Raheem, it's like Uncle Raheem. Cole Palmer, the likes of Reece James, it's Uncle Raheem,' the former Manchester United star said on Rio Ferdinand Presents. 

'And he's looked after a lot of these boys, they come to him, so when you kick that guy in the changing room, all of them are going to limp at some point and they aren't going to take it well and you create a problem in your own dressing room. 

'There's nobody delivering that message with any clarity, and from what I'm hearing he (Sterling) has got no understanding of where his situation lies. 

'He hasn't had anyone in the hierarchy come to him and say: "Listen, you're surplus to requirements, we want to get rid of you."

'And what I'm hearing is that the last conversation that was had was like "everything is fine.

'I'm hearing they're getting told (updates) by email and stuff like that. This is wild.' 

Joleon Lescott agreed, calling it 'wild' that 'someone of that stature in a Chelsea team' can be discarded in such a way. 

He added: 'You're going to ask a player to leave and there's obviously years on the contracts, so you want to leave in good faith because then players are okay when the cicumstances are made, you leave a bit on the table in order to go somewhere else, but if you treat me like a piece of s*** then I'm not going to do you any favours.' 

Sterling joined Chelsea from Manchester City in 2022 and has since scored 19 goals in 81 games but is among the players the club look set to try and offload.  

Quizzed about excluding Sterling, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said: ‘I want Raheem Sterling but we have 30 players, there is no space for all of them so some have to leave.'

He added: ‘The manager has to make some decisions. Sometimes players don’t like it, that’s normal. Just a technical decision, no more than that. With Raheem, we will clarify in the next days.’

A statement from Sterling’s camp ahead of Sunday's match read: ‘Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea Football Club for the next three years. 

‘He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.

‘He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea FC and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.

‘As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea FC in relation to Raheem’s future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.

‘Until then, we will continue to support Raheem’s desire to start the new season positively.’

Sterling has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer his non-inclusion in the squad indicates his Chelsea future could lie elsewhere.

Juventus are among the clubs with an interest in Sterling, who, it is understood, could leave before the transfer window shuts. 

Ferdinand is not the only pundit to get behind Sterling, an 82-time England international who earlier in the summer spoke of his desire to break back into the national team, having not played since the 2022 Qatar World Cup.. 

Daniel Sturridge was also critical of the Blues' decision to leave Sterling among the swathe of players excluded from Sunday's squad, though competition is fierce in a 43-man roster. 

'I want to say that I have a lot of love and respect for Raheem Sterling as a football player' Sturridge began. 'As a guy, he's a young brother of mine.

'The timing's not great, especially on the day of the game. But he will feel he's good enough to help Chelsea Football Club.

'In his mind, he's probably thinking, "Going up against City today, my old club, get out there". I think there's probably surprise by not being involved.

'I don't agree with it, with the message going out on the daily game. Obviously, it's not good timing, but Raheem Sterling, in my opinion, is a good enough player to be in Chelsea squad.'

Micah Richards, meanwhile, was more stern in his assessment of Sterling and his camp's statement.

'We've all been left out, though, haven't we? We've all been left out, and we'd all want to put statements out, but Raheem and his team know exactly what they're doing,' he said. 

'They're trying to make noise. There was a lot of noise around the club anyway. Everyone's talking about the players, everyone's talking about the ownership, everyone's talking about, can we even guess Chelsea's starting 11? Putting that statement out before the game is not good enough.

'I love Raheem as a player. Interviewed him, really nice guy, but that doesn't matter. We're talking about the facts of today. That is not going to help your team-mates, and it's probably not going to help his case of getting back into the team.'