Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Raheem Sterling spotted wearing Rolex

Raheem Sterling made headlines in the football world when he completed a then-staggering £49 million move from Liverpool FC to Manchester City FC, but the winger's wrist told its own compelling story. Sterling was photographed sporting the stainless steel Rolex Daytona reference 116520, one of the most celebrated modern chronographs in the collector world.

The Rolex Daytona 116520 was introduced in 2000 as the first Daytona to house a fully in-house movement — the Calibre 4130, a significant engineering milestone for Geneva's crown brand. The 40mm stainless steel case frames a tri-colour dial with contrasting subsidiary registers, protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and rated to 100 metres water resistance. The movement itself runs at 28,800 vph, delivers a 72-hour power reserve, and features a column wheel and vertical clutch mechanism — benchmarks for chronograph precision at any price point.

For collectors, the 116520 occupies a unique position. Produced from 2000 until its discontinuation in 2016 — replaced by the ceramic-bezel 116500LN — it represents the last steel Daytona with an aluminium bezel and the first to carry Rolex's own movement. That combination of transitional significance and production closure has driven sustained demand. A white-dial 116520 in full set condition regularly trades at two to three times its original retail price on the grey market.

Sterling's taste in watches has always leaned toward recognisable, high-status references rather than niche complications, and the Daytona 116520 fits that profile perfectly. It is a watch that reads as serious to anyone who knows watches, without alienating those who simply recognise the Rolex crown. For a footballer entering a record-breaking transfer and the scrutiny that comes with it, the choice is deliberate whether consciously or not.

At UK retail the 116520 listed at £7,950 — a figure that now seems almost historical given current grey-market realities. Stainless steel examples in good condition regularly clear £15,000 to £20,000 depending on dial colour and provenance, with white-dial full-set pieces pushing toward the upper end of that range. Discontinued, in-house powered, and perpetually on waiting lists before they even closed — the Rolex Daytona 116520 remains one of the defining references of its generation.