Liverpool slap £50m price tag on Raheem Sterling to stop exit
Club refuse to consider sale of 20-year-old this summer as manager Brendan Rodgers says winger should concentrate on his football
Liverpool are adamant that Raheem Sterling will be priced out of a summer move, with manager Brendan Rodgers insisting the club’s owners will not buckle from their hard-line stance on the winger’s future.
Despite Sterling’s claim that he would consider options at the end of this season, he faces at least another 12 months on his existing £35,000-a-week deal as owner John W Henry adopts the same strategy that retained Luis Suárez for another campaign before his eventual £75 million transfer to Barcelona.
Liverpool value Sterling at a minimum of £50 million – a fee senior figures at Anfield believe well beyond what any club will pay for the 20-year-old – leaving the England international with a dilemma when contract talks resume this summer. Either reach a compromise or he will lose millions in wages before he can force his way out.
“I cannot speak for the owners, but I have a good idea of what they would do,” said Rodgers. “I know them well enough from my time here and for me it [a sale] would not happen. I do not see it. No. Raheem has 2½ years left on his deal and he’s not going anywhere in the summer. Liverpool are one of the superpowers of football and if the owners don’t want to sell they don’t have to. The concentration should be on his football. If his ambition is to win trophies, that’s aligned with what we want here.”
There is a feeling at Anfield that Sterling – or more pertinently his agent Aidy Ward – are misjudging the transfer market and how much rivals in the Premier League and abroad will bid at the end of the season. A £50 million fee allied to a five-year deal of £200,000 a week would take the total cost of signing Sterling in excess of £100 million. Realistically, only Manchester City could make such a bid but even they have to direct their resources carefully since the introduction of financial fair play.
Although Arsenal are seen as a potential destination, Liverpool proved in the case of Suárez in 2013 that they are not bluffing when they stand their ground on a player. Signing Sterling would require an extraordinary investment, well beyond what Arsenal bid in their failed chase for the South American two years ago.
Liverpool reaped the benefits with Suárez as he produced his best form in his last season at Anfield. Liverpool knew that, with a World Cup on the horizon, the Uruguayan would not down tools.
Similarly, Sterling has next year’s European Championship to consider, so there are no worries his application on the pitch will deteriorate due to the off-field dispute.
Rodgers offered support to his player following Wednesday’s controversial BBC interview in which he explained why he had refused to commit his future to Anfield.
The Liverpool manager adopted a sympathetic tone, the feeling being the youngster has been guided by Ward into making 'a mistake’.
Club refuse to consider sale of 20-year-old this summer as manager Brendan Rodgers says winger should concentrate on his football
Liverpool are adamant that Raheem Sterling will be priced out of a summer move, with manager Brendan Rodgers insisting the club’s owners will not buckle from their hard-line stance on the winger’s future.
Despite Sterling’s claim that he would consider options at the end of this season, he faces at least another 12 months on his existing £35,000-a-week deal as owner John W Henry adopts the same strategy that retained Luis Suárez for another campaign before his eventual £75 million transfer to Barcelona.
Liverpool value Sterling at a minimum of £50 million – a fee senior figures at Anfield believe well beyond what any club will pay for the 20-year-old – leaving the England international with a dilemma when contract talks resume this summer. Either reach a compromise or he will lose millions in wages before he can force his way out.
“I cannot speak for the owners, but I have a good idea of what they would do,” said Rodgers. “I know them well enough from my time here and for me it [a sale] would not happen. I do not see it. No. Raheem has 2½ years left on his deal and he’s not going anywhere in the summer. Liverpool are one of the superpowers of football and if the owners don’t want to sell they don’t have to. The concentration should be on his football. If his ambition is to win trophies, that’s aligned with what we want here.”
There is a feeling at Anfield that Sterling – or more pertinently his agent Aidy Ward – are misjudging the transfer market and how much rivals in the Premier League and abroad will bid at the end of the season. A £50 million fee allied to a five-year deal of £200,000 a week would take the total cost of signing Sterling in excess of £100 million. Realistically, only Manchester City could make such a bid but even they have to direct their resources carefully since the introduction of financial fair play.
Although Arsenal are seen as a potential destination, Liverpool proved in the case of Suárez in 2013 that they are not bluffing when they stand their ground on a player. Signing Sterling would require an extraordinary investment, well beyond what Arsenal bid in their failed chase for the South American two years ago.
Liverpool reaped the benefits with Suárez as he produced his best form in his last season at Anfield. Liverpool knew that, with a World Cup on the horizon, the Uruguayan would not down tools.
Similarly, Sterling has next year’s European Championship to consider, so there are no worries his application on the pitch will deteriorate due to the off-field dispute.
Rodgers offered support to his player following Wednesday’s controversial BBC interview in which he explained why he had refused to commit his future to Anfield.
The Liverpool manager adopted a sympathetic tone, the feeling being the youngster has been guided by Ward into making 'a mistake’.
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