Brendan Rodgers admits Liverpool could be powerless to prevent Raheem Sterling leaving, but boss insists youngster should stay

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Brendan Rodgers believes Raheem Sterling could leave the club, if his representatives push him that way…

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has, for the first time, admitted fears over the future of Reds’ starlet Raheem Sterling, who just this morning has been linked – by the Daily Mirror – with a move to Manchester City.

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Rodgers told the press yesterday that he had no concerns regarding his 20-year-old, despite the youngster deciding that there will be no more discussions over a new contract until the end of the season.

The England international has been locked in negotiations over a new contract for much of the season, and there are now fears amongst the Anfield hierarchy that they will not be able to keep him out of the clutches of big-spending City, whose interest is rivalled by both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Sterling has already rejected a six-figure offer from Liverpool, believed to be worth around £100,000 per week, while City would be willing to offer around £130k, plus a £50m transfer fee to us.

And Rodgers, who was also quoted by the Mirror, admitted that he would be powerless to stop the player leaving if he decided that he wanted to go. He said: “Ultimately, for players and representatives, a lot of the time it’s about two things – game-time and money.

“You see it throughout football, not just here. A player can be really happy ­somewhere and be content and settled, and the development of the player can take place.

“As a manager, you want to give everything to the player to help them. But ultimately, if a player or their representative – probably more so their representative – decides that the player needs to move, that is normally what happens.

“Raheem has made 118 appearances and has only just turned 20. We’ve got a really strong relationship but, as I said, it is about more than that unfortunately. It isn’t like 20 or 30 years ago, when people came in and sometimes didn’t even look at the contract before signing it.

“It is a different sport now and it’s just about managing that. All I know is, that when people look at Raheem, it is obvious where his development has taken place and where the next stage should be.”

Rodgers added: “Ian Ayre does a wonderful job here, with the owners, and the model that’s been created is to incentivise deals for young players and not give them too much, too young.

“Of course, you still give them what their value and worth is, but I have seen it with so many young players – real top talents – who are way overpaid, then they disappear. It won’t happen here.”

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