23 Feb 2015

Confirmed: 'Outstanding' £26m attacker will sign 'incredible deal' with Liverpool 'soon'. Good news?

'Outstanding' Liverpool attacker Raheem Sterling scored another goal over the weekend to help the Reds grab a crucial win against Southampton, but what is the latest with his ongoing contract situation?

According to The Telegraph, LFC have offered Sterling £100k-a-week 'with the promise of further rewards should certain targets be met', and when asked on Sunday about the deal, £26m-rated Sterling told the Liverpool Echo:

“We're working on it [the new deal] and hopefully it will be sorted soon"

Translation: We're 'working on' trying to get as much money as possible out of the club, and it will be 'sorted' as soon as Liverpool give-in to my salary demands.

Brendan Rodgers recently described the deal on offer as 'incredible', especially for 'a player who is still developing', and he's right - it's an obscene amount of money for a 20-year old, but apparently, it's not enough.

Rodgers has also repeatedly claimed that Sterling is 'happy at Liverpool', but if that's the case why has he not yet signed a new deal? That's the question fans should be asking. If he's genuinely happy at Liverpool, then he'd surely sign the deal on offer, and recognise how lucky he is to be given the insane opportunity to earn £100k-a-week at the age of 20.

It just doesn't compute: Sterling is 'very happy' at Anfield, but not happy enough to accept £100K-a-week. Why? There's only one possible reason: greed. Like so many others, Sterling appears to be a football mercenary, and if he doesn't get what he wants at Anfield, I'm sure he'll move on to another club without giving it a second thought.

Don't get me wrong - Sterling has every right to chase the cash, but that doesn't mean fans have to be happy about it. Actions speak louder than words, and if Sterling genuinely gave a damn about Liverpool, he would've accepted the terms of the offer that's currently on the table.

I'd understand if the Reds were offering him a pitiful, insulting deal, but that's not the case. Liverpool have offered him a contract beyond the wildest dreams of most people, and Sterling is insulting LFC and the loyal fanbase with his ongoing attempts to squeeze more money out of the club.

Sterling is only the beginning - if Liverpool give in to his demands, where does it end? Liverpool will be seen as a soft touch, and every young player after Sterling who displays a modicum of talent may follow the same game-plan.

As I've stated numerous times: I honestly couldn't care less if Liverpool sell Sterling. The obsessional deification of individual players is a huge problem in football, and, when clubs accede to player-power in these situations, it perpetuates the the pernicious trend of player-entitlement, and promotes a damaging culture of greed and rampant self-interest.

As always, football fans are the great enablers, but I support Liverpool FC, not Sterling FC, and if he leaves, the club will go on, just like it did when countless other top class players left in the past.

And yes, I will keep going on about this issue for as long as it takes. I may be in the minority here (usually as a result of apathy, indifference, or a damaging 'that's just the way it is' attitude), but I know there are lots of fans out there who feel the same way, and this site is a voice for those fans.

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20 comments:

  1. You reminded me. An uncle took me to the Bridge when I was younger. Home debuted of a teenager called, Greaves ( johnny or Jamie??) He was going to be the next big thing. Obscurity. Ibe beware!

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  2. I disagree. While not sure about how actors do it, I do know about footballers. I never intimated Sterling or any player as a meek little lamb or anything close to it. But the trend follows players let the agents do the job they are paid for. I'm not saying the payer doesn't know what the offers are but they don't get into the knitty gritty, they follow advice from the employee...that's what he's paid for. That's like suggesting they involve themselves in sponsorship offers and all deals to do with money. They don't, they let the agent do his job. Sterling will say yes go ahead, no get more, however it will be on agents advise.

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  3. You obviously have no idea of the concept of libel, do you? Your character assassination of Sterling has been pathetic.

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  4. You didn't know that about Gandalf?

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  5. got any suggestions of a good movie as I am not in a mood for sniping?

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  6. How did Ibe attend a game with you your not allowed to be around children.

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  7. I'm sure that is not the point he is making...

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  8. It's a good movie (or so I've been told) starring Bradley Cooper. Sniping? I thought it was pretty straight forward. Perhaps I'm slipping in my old age.

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  9. Because JK is living the past the days of honour and right he doesnt realize its changed to dollars cents.

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  10. You're right, and I agree with you that things have changed. That doesn't mean that it should be accepted, though.

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  11. What he does to Sterling is far worse to what he does to Sterling. Suarez actually deserved it.

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  12. Yes footballs all business now and regardless of how much money they make clubs will be bending to the ever increasing demands of players.
    Thats why on weekends i go to the best football games in the world the grassroots level where everyone plays for the love and a beer after the game.

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  13. Oh, come now. You know he uses that as a bedpan.

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  14. And sneezing into his $100 bills... ala Dumb and Dumber :)

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  15. They asked BR about new contract for Ibe....which reinforces Jaimie's viewpoint that media hypes young English players. BR responded saying that...nothing on contract front. It must be frustrating for manager and club when media talks about new contract for a player who merely started 2 games for Liverpool. It must be getting into players mind as well.

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  16. Yup I spotted that too

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  17. I've always felt that Sterling had in it him to be a bit like this. He's had a bit of a cocky air to him. I don't see that with Ibe.

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