Raheem Sterling was never likely to show great form in his first match since May 2025 but his debut for Feyenoord on Sunday was labelled ‘disappointing’.
The England international has escaped the Chelsea bomb squad after his contract was terminated and made the surprise switch to Feyenoord.
Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is in charge of the Dutch club and hopes to get Sterling back to full fitness and unleash his best on the Eredivisie.
That journey started on Sunday against Telstar, with the 31-year-old coming on just after the hour-mark in the 2-1 win for Van Persie’s men.
While there has been a huge fanfare for the arrival of Sterling in Rotterdam, his first appearance didn’t quite match up to expectations.
ESPN’s Kees Luijckx, an analyst and former Netherlands Under-21 international, felt it was underwhelming after the build-up, saying Sterling is not in the condition to take on the best teams in the Eredivisie yet.
‘I did enjoy all the commotion of the past few weeks, but in the end, it was all a bit disappointing,’ said Luijckx.
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‘I think it’s great to see so much hope from the crowd. Every touch of the ball had the crowd on their feet. He just hasn’t quite got the capacity to really show anything yet, not even against Telstar. It’s Raheem Sterling, of course, and that’s why you give him the chance, because of his status, but it’s not really possible yet.
‘But it’s clear that he has to make an impact eventually. That’s possible against Telstar, but not against Ajax.’
Van Persie sounded more pleased with his star signing, saying: ‘He was good and threatening a few times, so I’m very happy with that.’
Sterling was also positive, remaining realistic about what he can manage, having not played since the end of the 2024/25 season when he was on loan at Arsenal.
‘This feels good,’ he said. ‘We won, that’s the most important thing. A great debut. I haven’t played for a while, but I’ve been trying to stay fit. We’re just taking it step by step to get fitter.’
As Sterling awaited his work permit to operate in Netherlands, Feyenoord moved their training camp to Belgium to help accommodate him.
‘It was a good introduction to the team. The trip to Belgium was a great experience, getting to know the guys better,’ he said.
‘I’m here for a new challenge. We have some exceptional players, guys with a lot of talent. Now it’s all about consistency.’
Speaking ahead of the match, Van Persie talked up the winger’s ability, but also played down expectations due to his fitness levels.
‘Raheem trained last Tuesday, for the first time with the group. That was his first time in a group in several months,’ said the Dutchman last Friday. ‘When you see the choices he makes in small moments, how quickly he thinks and switches, you see that other players also see it and respond to it. That’s how it works.
‘You also want to show each other that you’re good too. That was evident in those training sessions. In my opinion, he’s a player of exceptional quality. He showed that in those training sessions. I enjoyed seeing that, and so did his teammates.
‘How match-fit are you after not playing for six months? It depends on how he gets through tomorrow. That looks positive. But we have to be careful with him. We’ll talk to Raheem about that.
‘He needs some time to be able to play 90 minutes. That won’t be Sunday [against Telstar] and it won’t be next week either. But we’ll try to get there as soon as possible. We’ll do it our way, as quickly as possible, but responsibly and calmly.’