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Thursday, April 2, 2015

Liverpool will not sell Raheem Sterling this summer, says Brendan Rodgers


The Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers, says Raheem Sterling will not be going anywhere this summer after discussions over a new contract reached an impasse.
Sterling has been made what Rodgers described as “an incredible offer”, believed to be £100,000 a week, but negotiations have stalled. The 20-year-old forward has confirmed he rejected the deal and wants to assess his situation at the end of the season.
Rodgers said on Thursday: “Concentration should be on his football. If his ambition is to win trophies that’s aligned with what we do here. Raheem has two and a half years left on his deal and he’s not going anywhere in the summer.”
Sterling gave his side of the story in an interview with the BBC, something Rodgers did not seem impressed by. “There was no permission [for the interview] from us,” the manager said. “He will learn we all make mistakes in life, especially when you are young.
“I think the kid has tried to put off all talk about contract and money. For now hopefully focus will be on football. Liverpool are one of the superpowers of football and if the owners don’t want to sell they don’t have to.”
Asked in the interview if he would be a Liverpool player in June, Sterling said: “I will definitely give guarantees at the end of the season. I’m just focusing on my football. It is my career and I want the best for me and to reach the goals I had as a kid.”
Sterling added: “I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old. I want to be seen as a 20-year-old kid who loves playing football and doing his best for the team.”
Somewhat embarrassingly for Liverpool, Sterling suggested had the club made the offer at the end of last season he would have already signed an extension – and probably for less money than is now being offered.
That has echoes of the situation with the captain, Steven Gerrard, who said in January after announcing his departure to Los Angeles Galaxy that he would have stayed had his contract offer come in pre-season and not November.


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