Raheem Sterling

[spud_gun]

Me too, sure it will be, but i'm talking from the point of view of what i think is a fair wage.

When we're talking about a teenager earning 80k or 130k per week the term 'fair wage' doesn't enter the equation.

He'll get what his market rate is. As it stands he's integral to our team and he'll earn accordingly.

[frank the tank]

Sterling isn't a big enough name to be getting a massive wage. Real Madrid and the rest wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. Players get huge salaries based on a number of factors, chief amongst them is image rights. Beckham wasn't at Real Madrid for his ability.

People comparing him to Balotelli should take note that he's a massive name and sells merchandise. Raheem isn't and doesn't. Probably has the bogus reports of him having had ten kids to thank for his small marketing prospects.

If Raheem's agent was to walk into a clubs offices and say he deserves £150k purely based on his footballing ability and future potential, he'd get laughed out the room.

I don't think 150k per week is that huge looking at the bigger picture though......put it this way, that is what Nani earns. (United rumoured to be paying 120k of that each week)..... Walcott earns about that apparently. Raheem is better than both of these players.....and his transfer value is better as well.

I personally think a solution will be found - and hopefully it will be an incentive based deal that keeps the guy motivated. I also think that lfc is probably the best place for him to continue his development.

The club can't have it both ways either - they can't look to harvest potential and save on transfer fees by buying potential like sterling Ibe and even semi-established and potential world class players like Emre can and Markovic and then not pay the proper rates when they become worldies.... If we don't pay the proper market rate then we become a selling club and we don't compete for the top prizes.....

[Vermilion]

When we're talking about a teenager earning 80k or 130k per week the term 'fair wage' doesn't enter the equation.

He'll get what his market rate is. As it stands he's integral to our team and he'll earn accordingly.

I think it does, otherwise we'd have already given him 130k ?

For what it's worth, I think we'll see him sign a contract at around 80k.

We'll see.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Isn't Sturridge on 150.000 although heavily incentivised. Who are your first five names on the sheet now? For me, I'd say Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson, Sakho and Can, maybe not in that order. We have a plan, to recruit promising players and let them grow, but to keep them together we need to pay them. Luke Shaw is on 100.000, Januzaj on 60.000, Odegaard something similar. If we want to keep the best players, the most promising player in Europe, we might have to pay for it.

It's not a heated matter for me, but I do believe we have to pay the market rate, and Sterling's 30.000 is not, we shouldn't use that as a benchmark in any negotations with Sterling.

I have not used 30k as a benchmark though.

I named five players ( Sakho, Henderson, Coutinho, Skrtel, and Sturridge.) that I think are just as important to the first team at present as Sterling is, so the benchmark for me would probably be somewhere in the middle of the wage range shared by those five.

An arguement might be made for Can turning that list into six players as important as Sterling if he continues as he has been doing.

Personally I would pay Sterling more than what Coutinho earns (rumoured to be £80k a week) and put further incentives in place so that he could sunstantially top up his weekly wage by getting goals/assists etc.

[The_weatherman]

I have not used 30k as a benchmark though.

I named five players ( Sakho, Henderson, Coutinho, Skrtel, and Sturridge.) that I think are just as important to the first team at present as Sterling is, so the benchmark for me would probably be somewhere in the middle of the wage range shared by those five.

An arguement might be made for Can turning that list into six players as important as Sterling if he continues as he has been doing.

Personally I would pay Sterling more than what Coutinho earns (rumoured to be £80k a week) and put further incentives in place so that he could sunstantially top up his weekly wage by getting goals/assists etc.

I know, I was just lazy, it was a half arsed reply to someone else.....sorry about that.

Shall we say 90 a week plus incentives? I can fax it to his representatives and just close this?

[Doc_Piptorious]

I know, I was just lazy, it was a half arsed reply to someone else.....sorry about that.

Shall we say 90 a week plus incentives? I can fax it to his representatives and just close this?

Nah just sell him, and bring in that Tom Ince fella.

[Muddled]

Then when his next contract expires, or close to, if we can't afford his wage demands sell him. But for a big fee, and after an extra 3 years service. He should be worth a lot more by then. My point is it is the wrong time to sell and his wage demands shouldn't have too greater an influence on other peoples, as Sturridge's never. And players wages are indexed to what they bring to the pitch, and their market value is linked to where they play. A good CF will always be paid more than a good CM. You can bet your bottom dollar that Falco is on more than Alonso or Masch. That's the way of the world. I'm not saying you create an arbitrary index to price your players, but you need to be aware of what your players are worth and where they might go when entering these negotiations. If Sterling left he'd possibly interest Real, Barca and Bayern among others. Henderson, as much as I love him wouldn't. So Sterling is worth a greater salary. I agree with your point that in an ideal world we would give him a highly incentivised contract, which should grow with his performances, if the club can negotiate it I'd be all for that. The numbers to me aren't important as we have no real idea what has been offered and what is wanted. The point of the article is hypothetical, and that is that Liverpool should be prepared to make Sterling the second highest earner at the club, if that is what it takes to keep him. He is 20, a huge talent, and if we don't pay him it the fact that somebody else will means that it's his market rate. There is lots of money swishing around right now, and when the near TV deal kicks in wages will kick on again, and this won't seem too bad business at all.

I think you're naive to believe footballers don't discuss salaries, compete on monetary terms and their want for parity or even to exceed others. I also think you're putting too much emphasis on Sterling transfer valuation to justify larger wages.

You're talking of paying a hefty wedge now for Liverpool to nurture him and then talk of selling him as he enters his prime. Why? This is why we should not play our trump card now and look to break the bank at his next contract (assuming he continues his current progression).

Talk of extra money in the game doesn't mean we can throw it around without consequence. What if this £1.5m is the difference between securing our number one transfer target or settling to number three?

[EwarWoo]

What if this £1.5m is the difference between securing our number one transfer target or settling to number three?

What if it's the difference between keeping Sterling and paying 20m+ to replace him?

[Muddled]

What if it's the difference between keeping Sterling and paying 20m+ to replace him?

What if we already have the replacement in the squad?

[Rich]

Players hold the power and we are naive to think that one of our rivals wouldn't give him what he wants therefore we're left in the situation where we have to pay it.

He's been this season's outstanding attacking performer, often with poor support and often played out of position. Oh and he's just turned 20.

Of course from the club's side we need to negotiate but under no circumstances should be lose him so early in his career, to do so would confirm we operate in the second or third tier of the European hierarchy.

[Muddled]

Raheem Sterling says Liverpool is perfect place for young talent

• ‘I am working on being more consistent,’ says forward
• Sterling denies being distracted by contract saga
• Rodgers warns Sterling agent over new deal

Andy Hunter in Istanbul
Wednesday 25 February 2015 22.42 GMT

Evidence of Raheem Sterling’s contentment at Liverpool assumes more importance in the absence of a signature on a long-term contract, the one assurance over his future that matters. His belief that Brendan Rodgers’ team offers the best place for young talent to flourish, therefore, will not be treated as an empty platitude at Anfield.

Sterling’s assessment that Liverpool is home to opportunity was given fresh credence by the squad taken to Turkey for Thursday’s Europa League second leg against Besiktas. Among the usual young members were the 19-year-old Jordan Williams and 18-year-old Jerome Sinclair as Rodgers rested Philippe Coutinho before Sunday’s Premier League game with Manchester City, despite a lengthy injury list. Youth will be given a major role in finishing the job started by Mario Balotelli’s 85th-minute penalty when Liverpool return to the Ataturk Stadium.

At the vanguard will be Sterling, a comparative veteran of 114 appearances and 22 goals for Liverpool, who provides a potent reminder of his own 20 years. “I remember the Gerrard header but I can’t remember too much else,” he says of his employer’s 2005 Champions League triumph in Istanbul. “I think I must have watched it at home in Wembley.” Time does not always appear to pass so fast.

It is five months since Liverpool and Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, opened negotiations on a five-year deal for the England international, who is under contract at Anfield until 2017, and a stand-off has ensued over the terms on offer. Rodgers made his thoughts clear on the impasse a fortnight ago when he insisted Liverpool had offered “an incredible deal” and would not pay “way, way above what a player is worth at a certain time of his career”. Amid delicate negotiations Sterling insists he “just wants to talk about football” before the meeting with Slaven Bilic’s side but insists the contract saga is not a distraction, an argument supported by his performances this season.

“I speak to my representative every day and he has told me to just concentrate on playing football and him and the club will deal with it; that is the most important thing. I am concentrating on winning games for Liverpool and hopefully it will be done soon,” Sterling says.

Sterling, Jordon Ibe, Alberto Moreno and Emre Can – 20, 19, 22 and 21 respectively – are in contention to start at the Ataturk. Whatever accusations may come Sterling’s way over the delay in signing a new deal, the forward is fully aware of what he owes to Liverpool and Rodgers.

“I don’t think there is a better place for young lads than Liverpool at this moment in time,” says Sterling. “The manager has blooded a lot of young players like myself and Jordon. He puts you in at the deep end and it seems like at that moment you are ready. You look at Jordon against Everton, he was the best player on the pitch, which is credit to the manager as well. Every young player is getting a chance when they show they are working hard on the training pitch and that is credit to the manager for giving them the chance to shine at the highest level.”

Sterling denies he has mentored Ibe during the winger’s impressive progression into the first team. “I don’t tell him he should do this or that,” he says. “I’m not a senior professional. I have not played 200 games for Liverpool or anything like that.” Besides, the 20-year-old has his own development to work on. Sterling has scored 10 goals for Liverpool this season but is the first to admit the tally should be higher despite having to adjust to a lead striker role during Daniel Sturridge’s absence through injury.

“I think my form has been a bit stop-start which I suppose is natural for a young player,” he admits. “If I want to get my game to the next level then I need to be consistent. That is something I am working on. I’ve got 10 goals but I could easily have had 15 if I had taken half of my chances. I am very critical of myself and always look at what I can improve on.

“The United game [when Liverpool lost 3-0 at Old Trafford in December, their last league defeat] was massive for me. I had a few chances to win us the game and I missed them. I went home and watched the clips of my misses over and over again. That was a low day but I realised I had to be calm and more relaxed in front of goal. I had to pick myself up quickly.”

LINK: The Guardian

[EwarWoo]

What if we already have the replacement in the squad?

What if the club wins a lottery rollover?

[Muddled]

We offer Sterling £130,000 a week.

[Fosterbloke]

"I'm not a senior professional. I have not played 200 games for Liverpool or anything like that."

Fully justifies our reason for not caving into his agent's wage demands.

[Big-Red-Ed]

Sterling deserves a pay cut after that performance. Hahaha