Raheem Sterling

[Lents]

What possible good can come from them saying a 17 year old
Is going to reject 15k a week etc? It's stupid and they should be brighter than that.

[Lents]

Just seen their childish 'don't complain that we hold things back' bull**** now, grow the **** up!

[yamiedo]

If Sterling doesn't accept our offer for contract that truly would be a sign of how far we've fallen

[-V-]

Not really. His agents will be advising that he is in demand and to wait until the club offers him a much bigger contract. I can see the negotiations going on well into the new year. Sterling knows he is getting playing time at Liverpool so he will probably stay but he'll end up with a big contract

[yamiedo]

18 he'll be then. He has plenty of time to get the big contract. Its a shame the way the games is being ruined by billionaire owners, player agents and huge contracts. All I can say is that if he gets the big contract lets hope it doesn't ruin his desire to be a good player.

[ChesterDave]

He'll need a big contract at the rate he is passing on his genes

[TheElephantMan]

Maybe he's right to hold out for a better offer? He's infinitely better than Stuart Downing. Football has gone mad and realistically nobody is worth thousands of pounds per week, but if Downing earns say £50k per week then it would be very difficult to argue that Sterling deserves less.

[yamiedo]

I personally think age should factor in contract offers and it always has done. Raheem may be in the first team but at 18 to be earning 50k a week is just ridiculous. Brendan will surely be trying to stop him from getting too far ahead of himself. However, If that's what it takes to hold on to him well I guess its better for the club in the long run.

[TheElephantMan]

Anyone earning £50k per week is ridiculous. Sterling is a first team player and should earn whatever the going rate is for a decent winger. If we don't pay the wages then we'll lose the player, simple as.

[Fosterbloke]

* Look at it this way, he's 18 and likely to get much better
* He's improved the team by a long way
* He's a regular starter
* This is a multi billion dollar industry with massive pressures to succeed
* We're a huge club with massive revenue. Our worth is a reflection of the improvement on the pitch.

All of the above must be factored into a simple question - How much value does Sterling bring to Liverpool FC. If it's a **** tonne then he's worth a big contract.

[RedReet]

There is no doubt it is something we will look at in the next few months. But I have seen it so much with young players. You see them play one or two games and they get handed these super-duper contracts.

A few years later you hear people ask, “What has happened to so and so?” The biggest thing that distorts the reality of people and footballers is money. If we are to protect and help young players, you can’t give them inflated contracts.

‘I worked with players at Swansea who had spent their lives in football and not earned more than two grand a week. They had played 400-odd games and were at the end of their careers. Now you see young players who are multi-millionaires. No matter what you say, it takes the edge off them. The point I have made to Raheem — and he has been brilliant, to be fair to him — is that he will earn it.’

I want to manage the expectation of the kid. The last thing we need is Sky Sports coming up with the yellow bar saying he has signed a five-year contract after playing two games.’

He's just right IMO.

[Alex]

Contract negotiations go on for a while. Offers and counter offers. Its silly reporting to tell people. Its all part of a process.

Also, the Lad is 17 ffs. We don't need to be hearing this sort of thing.

[Vermilion]

How old was Rooney when he joined utd in 2004, and what do people think his wage was ?

Quite simply we pay, or they don't stay, because other clubs will pay, ffs they're already making plans to steal Sterling away, we all know it, as will his agent and his family.

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

I remember reading Plessis was on 15k when we signed him, ridiculous really.

Saying that Sterling is a first team player now and important for our future. I'd have no problem personally if we offered him £30k and give him improved incentives in his contract.

He may well move on in a couple of years time but we need to be in a position to demand the highest fee possible if that ends up the case.

[The_weatherman]

How old was Rooney when he joined utd in 2004, and what do people think his wage was ?

Quite simply we pay, or they don't stay, because other clubs will pay, ffs they're already making plans to steal Sterling away, we all know it, as will his agent and his family.

I remember reading Plessis was on 15k when we signed him, ridiculous really.

Saying that Sterling is a first team player now and important for our future. I'd have no problem personally if we offered him £30k and give him improved incentives in his contract.

He may well move on in a couple of years time but we need to be in a position to demand the highest fee possible if that ends up the case.

I'll be livid if someone nips in with higher offer and then later sells him on for 20 million plus.

Because we are talking about a 20 million plus player in the near future. His contract should reflect that, maybe 30k the first year and then rising. But he should also remember that Rodgers gave him the chance, not many top clubs would have.