Liverpool is best place for Raheem Sterling to develop, insists his manager Brendan Rodgers
The player told the BBC he was more interested in winning trophies than the £100,000 wages on offer, and resented being asked to play wing-back
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Your support makes all the difference.Brendan Rodgers has insisted Liverpool is the one club that can give Raheem Sterling the regular football that will ensure his development as one of the country’s finest forwards, after declaring the striker will not be sold this summer.
Despite Sterling’s television interview on Wednesday that seemed to cast further doubt on the 20-year-old’s willingness to remain on Merseyside, Rodgers pointed out that the striker “still needs guidance and help” but also insisted he had the club owners’ backing in not selling the player. “I do not see it,” he said at the prospect of cashing in.
Rodgers recognises the Liverpool he manages is different from the one of another generation, when players left only at the club’s instigation. Despite a second-place finish last season, Anfield is not the pull it once was.
Last summer Rodgers oversaw the departure of Luis Suarez. Now he is faced with Sterling’s representatives trying to force their player out of Anfield. “The challenges Liverpool face now are greater than they were 20 years ago,” said Rodgers. “It does not affect the status of Liverpool, it is still an incredibly huge club around the world, but the modern player is different.
“But for a young player there is no better place to develop. We want that youthfulness. You do not want another team to come and take it. My focus is to keep this group together and compete for trophies.”
Sterling’s representatives have targeted Liverpool over money – they believe the club’s offer of a contract worth £100,000 a week is not the player’s market value. On Wednesday, Sterling told the BBC he was more interested in trophies than wages and resented being asked to play wing-back.
“I pick the best team,” said Rodgers. “What is key for him – and I am sure he understands this – is that he is getting the opportunity to play. If you look through this league and the top leagues in Europe, there are not many playing at 17, 18, 19 or 20.
“He only needs to look at Steven Gerrard in his time here. Steven has played in a back three, as a wing-back, a right-back, a left-back, centre midfield and a No 10. Has he played as a striker? I am sure he must have done.”
One thing is clear; Sterling is determined. There are not many 20-year-olds who would have been comfortable discussing their future on TV in an interview they instigated. “It is something he looked to do but it has not evolved how he would have wanted it,” said Rodgers. “He has had trauma in his life and he is a tough boy – you see that in how he plays. But he is still very young; he still needs guidance and help.”
Rodgers was insistent that Sterling would not be sold, not even if they received a “ridiculous offer” in the summer. “I do not see it,” he said. “Ultimately, I do not speak for the owners but I have a good idea of what they would do. I know them well enough and it would not happen.”
The club was only aware Sterling would be speaking to the BBC on the afternoon of the broadcast. Since his action was unauthorised, Liverpool may fine him before tomorrow’s game with Arsenal, a club the striker said he was “flattered to be linked with”.
Some at the club feel that Sterling is not sure where his future lies but is being propelled towards the exit by his agent. Aidy White may make Sterling one of the Premier League’s best-paid footballers but he is also responsible for managing Sterling’s reputation. After two hugely successful seasons, that reputation should be unchallenged. His reception at Liverpool’s next home game, against Newcastle, will be interesting.
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