Liverpool will hold crisis talks with Raheem Sterling after the forward told manager Brendan Rodgers he wants to quit the club.
|||Liverpool will hold crisis talks with Raheem Sterling after the forward told manager Brendan Rodgers he wants to quit the club.
Sterling spoke to Rodgers before the 1-1 draw at Chelsea and made it clear he does not want to stay. But the England international has agreed to a final round of discussions as Liverpool make a last-ditch attempt to persuade the 20-year-old his future is at Anfield.
Sterling has refused to sign a new, five-year deal because he is unconvinced by the club’s ability to challenge for silverware. He wants Champions League football, something that will not be possible at Anfield next season.
He also feels he is being under- valued by the offer of a new deal, believed to be worth around £100,000 a week, and is unhappy with the club releasing details of the contract.
The Barclays Premier League’s top four clubs — Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United — are all watching developments closely. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus are also interested. They are all prepared to offer more
than Liverpool are currently proposing. Rodgers insists Sterling, who has two years left to run on his £35,000-per-week contract, will not be allowed to leave even if he does not sign a new deal.
But it remains to be seen whether Liverpool are prepared to let Sterling run down the remainder of his contract and risk the prospect of losing him for nothing in 2017.
Liverpool remain hopeful they can change Sterling’s mind, as they did in 2005 when Steven Gerrard came so close to joining Chelsea.
But there are key differences between the two situations. Sterling is not from Liverpool and entrenched in the club’s history like Gerrard. He was born in Jamaica and raised in north-west London.
Like Gerrard, he wants success but winning trophies with Liverpool is not the be all and end all for him.
In public, Liverpool players have urged Sterling to sign a new contract. Rodgers, who said Sterling has been offered an ‘incredible’ deal, is adamant that his development as a footballer and a person would be best served by staying rather than going somewhere he would not be guaranteed regular starts.
But, at the club’s Melwood training complex, it is a different story. Sterling has been advised by a number of his team-mates that he should leave if he wants to fulfil his huge potential and ambition.
Sterling’s rejection of Liverpool’s offer means he has lost out on more than £1.6million in wages since Liverpool first put the deal to him in October. But it is looking increasingly likely that his long-term future lies away from Liverpool.
This is a crucial summer for Liverpool as they begin the process of rebuilding after the departure to LA Galaxy of Gerrard, who will be recognised at tonight’s Players’ Awards night which Sterling will also attend. – Daily Mail
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