Raheem Sterling: Chelsea to rival Arsenal and Manchester City in bid to land England star but Liverpool won't sell for less than £50m
Sterling has rejected the latest contract offer from Liverpool although his current deal runs until the summer of 2017
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool are confident that setting Raheem Sterling's valuation at £50m will be enough to fend off any interest in the 20-year-old this summer after Brendan Rodgers insisted he was "not going anywhere".
The Telegraph reports that the England winger will only leave Anfield is a club is prepared to cough up more than £50m at the end of the season, despite contract talks between player and club grinding to a halt in extraordinary circumstances this week.
Sterling spoke to the BBC in an unsanctioned interview to confirm he had rejected a new contract offer, thought to be worth a hefty £100,000-a-week, and delayed any further talks until the end of the season.
With Sterling currently on £35,00-a-week, the new offer represented a significant pay rise for the young talent, but Sterling insisted that he does not want to be labelled a “money-grabber” and simply wants to win trophies with whoever he is playing for.
Liverpool manager Rodgers responded strongly in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, as he warned the midfielder that he is “not going anywhere” in the summer and rejected the prospect of the club cashing in on his worth.
However, the Daily Mail reports that Chelsea will still look to test the Reds’ resolve in the summer with a big-money bid, and they could be joined by both Manchester City and Arsenal in attempting to land the former Queens Park Rangers youth player.
Sterling also made a comment that didn’t do anything to strengthen his relationship with Liverpool fans when he said he was “flattered” to hear of interest from Arsenal, with the two clubs set to meet this weekend in the Premier League in what is already a must-win match for the Reds.
Failure to beat the Gunners could see them slip eight points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, and would mean they face a difficult task to catch and overhaul their rivals in a bid to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments