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Chelsea's new signing Raheem Sterling was filmed thrashing his new club's manager Thomas Tuchel at table tennis.
As seen in a video released by Chelsea's official website, the squad participated in a series of ping pong clashes during their pre-season tour of the US, with Sterling declaring he was unbeatable in the sport.
The 27-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge earlier this summer from Manchester City for £50 million (BBC Sport), following seven incredibly successful seasons in which he claimed four Premier League titles. The England forward stated in the video (as quoted by The Sun):
“I’d say my go-to hobby outside of football has to be ping pong. Get to somewhere, there’s a table, and play for hours.”
The video shows the squad having a game of table tennis, with Trevoh Chalobah beating Kenedy before German boss Tuchel proclaims:
“Now Raheem plays for the first time in his life.”
Sterling then replies:
“I promise you, I promise you, no-one here will beat me.”
This causes Tuchel to shake his head and say "no, no, no," before the winger quickly beats Chalobah. Sterling is then met with great cheers and roars from his teammates as he squares off against the German manager.
The two appear to be evenly matched until Sterling smashes the winner, which he celebrates as if he has just scored in the World Cup final. 48-year-old Tuchel then jokingly shouts:
“Not against Raheem! Not against Raheem! Oh please say!”
Raheem Sterling admits moving to London was a factor behind him moving to Chelsea
Sterling began his youth career at QPR before moving to Liverpool in 2010, bursting on the scene in Merseyside and eventually becoming one of the Premier League's leading forwards.
The attacker has also become a vital member of Gareth Southgate's England squad. When asked about how it feels to be back in West London, Sterling said (as quoted by The Mirror):
"Coming back to London is a surreal feeling. When I went up north I never used to come down that much. My family came up to help me to focus.
"Sometimes London can be a distraction but I am old enough and mature enough with my kids and family, so it will be a lovely opportunity to spend time with my mum and their grandmother. You know how it is, you score and have a game then pop around to mum's and have some Sunday dinner and pop back up.”
