City have won 29 major trophies in their history, 12 of them while Sterling was there - including four of their eight league titles, five of their eight League Cups and one FA Cup.
He leaves with 131 goals and 74 assists in 339 games across seven seasons following his move from Liverpool.
He has been a hugely important part of Pep Guardiola's managerial career too, playing more games (292) for the Catalan than anybody else.
Only Lionel Messi (211) and Sergio Aguero (124) have scored more goals for Guardiola than Sterling's 120. He is also third for assists, with 66, only behind Kevin de Bruyne (105) and Messi (80).
"He has been an incredibly important player in all these seasons, with all the goals and assists, and when he has confidence he's a really, really important player," said Guardiola last season.
But despite that, Sterling has never really established himself as a legend in City fans' eyes.
"Sterling has never been a crowd favourite, which is difficult to explain as he has now won more Premier League titles than any non-Manchester United player apart from John Terry and Fernandinho," said BBC Sport's Simon Stone.
"His form has been patchy. Sometimes he looks really effective, on other occasions he can be quite wasteful and he still misses chances in front of goal. Yet he remains a danger with the ball at his feet and his best days could still be ahead of him.
"He could be one of those players whose time at City is appreciated more in retrospect than it has been at the time."
