RAHEEM, lad, stop messing, writes MELISSA REDDY.
Throwback to five years ago, and Raheem Sterling — shy and self-conscious — was fidgeting around in his suit from Next as he waited to collect an award. He was 15, had no media experience, and was terrified of having to make an acceptance speech on stage. Last May, he was in the spotlight again after being named Liverpool’s Young Player of the Year, but this time, the nerves were benched.
In an interview with me, Phil Roscoe the assistant manager of the club’s academy, admitted that small shift was an important as the Usain Bolt strides Sterling was making on the pitch.
“I remember he was nominated as St Helens Young Elite Sport Performer of the Year, so we went to buy him a suit from Next for the ceremony,” Roscoe detailed. “He won and because he was still in school, he did no media whatsoever, but he was so nervous about going up and collecting the trophy.
“I had a little flashback to that moment when he won the LFC award. I just think it’s great to see a player develop on the field, but even more so, it’s lovely to see them develop off the field. In my role, that gives me just as much joy as watching one of our academy players run out at Anfield for the first team.”
This vignette is on repeat in my mind when those two menacing words — ‘contract talks’ — wait until I’m off the ropes just to left-hook me again. I analyse how far Sterling has come, the unbelievable support and platform he has received, how much he still has packed away in his top drawer and I can’t fathom why we’re all stood outside in the pissing rain, getting drenched for no reason.
“Liverpool is the best place for his development.” Scan the press and those words are as popular as One Direction right now. Even those suggesting Sterling is right to hold off any decision to ‘concentrate on football’ agree that the forward will not get the extent of care and opportunity he has in L4 anywhere else.
Yet, here we all are, looking stupid and soaking wet, trying to figure all this out.
£180,000 a week. One hundred and eighty thousand sweet, sexy pounds a week. That is the figure Sterling is apparently willing to drop the shoulder on should Liverpool count all the pennies and place them on table. That’s the latest from the Daily Mail. Along with the Mirror, they claim it’s not about the money for the attacker, but about concern he won’t be a central figure in Brendan Rodgers’ side.
You messing?
Are you FUCKING messing?
Stop messing!
The first and very important factor to note is how the storyline has shifted. Initially, the argument was that Sterling — as one of Europe’s foremost talents — should command a fee in line with Daniel Sturridge’s package of £150,000 a week. Real Madrid were knocking. Bayern Munich were at the door. Now, after a few stints in the wing-back role, the plot is one of mistrust in tactics and value. Arsenal have entered the imaginary race, with Manchester City ready and waiting to bulldoze in. Soon, Chelsea will be sat with iPad and a coffee ‘monitoring the situation.’
This is what I’d term an agent-da. A news cycle dictated by the player’s representatives to sound out potential suitors, to stir Liverpool supporters, to light a flame under the club’s arse, and to play to the ego or pocket of their client. The recent stream of information has been very one-sided. Rodgers shared the official line: the trickster has been offered an incredible deal, no silly ransom money will be switching hands, and a decision will be made by Sterling in the summer. All the more extreme new developments to the situation reported since have not come from the club or those journalists on the Merseyside beat. That should tell you everything.
Raheem Sterling dangerously close to CONTRACT REBEL territory: pic.twitter.com/kAJNE97yiG
— Football Clichés (@FootballCliches) March 29, 2015
Liverpool will not make an offer for £180,ooo a week for Sterling to turn down. It smashes the highest wage bracket at the club and drops its pants in the face of everything they are trying to do financially and ethically. That money for a 20-year-old is, well, a bit Macaulay Culkin isn’t it? Too much, too soon, too indulged, too too too…
The club’s offer — around £100,000 a week — has already been viewed as excessive in some quarters, with Rodgers terming it “an incredible deal for a young player” and Liverpool’s generosity will definitely not germinate to the farcical. To put the zeros into context: Harry Kane, the Premier League’s breakthrough player this season, earns less than Sterling’s current package, banking around £30,000, with Adnan Januzaj on the same fee. Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sits on a reported £65,000 a week.
That £150,000 Raheem’s agents were pushing for? It’s more than both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil — the latter a World Cup winner — earn over at the Emirates.
Please don’t shout “GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS,” it doesn’t work that way. When Luke Shaw, at 19, was understood to be demanding £120,000 a week, Chelsea slammed the door. Jose Mourinho suggested the club would have been “dead” had they ceded to those demands. He argued senior players on a lesser package but with greater service to the club, would have questioned the basis of agreeing to such a salary, leading to an imbalance not welcomed at Stamford Bridge. Other talented youngsters would want the same benefits and bang their feet. When he’s not throwing darts at Sky Sports pundits or imagining Loch Ness monster-size conspiracies, he speaks some sense does Jose.
Now that we’ve hopefully tackled how ridiculous the money aspect of all this is, what about Sterling’s importance to the club and his ambitions then? You’d swear Sterling has been tied up hands behind his back, tape over his mouth at wing-back all of this season. If you check Twitter, or recent articles, you’d be forgiven for thinking that’s actually been the case. It’s suddenly gospel.
From the Daily Mail: “Sterling, who has turned down a number of offers from Liverpool, believes his best position is in the three forward positions and is becoming increasingly concerned about his position at wing-back.” Increasingly concerned? We need to head back to stop messing avenue!
First: Sterling’s tactical intelligence is the premier asset that sets him apart from most pacy young players. Yeah, they can run pretty quick and beat a man, but what else have they got? Well, Sterling’s locker is spilling over and he needs to be very grateful to Rodgers, who could so easily have jailed him on the right flank. “It was clear in training that he didn’t have to be pigeon-holed into a winger. When he played wide, he was very comfortable coming inside, so that was a good sign,” said the Reds boss last year. “He has great instincts, balance and a reading of the game.”
Sterling has played forward on both wings, at right back, at the tip of the diamond, as an auxiliary forward… Practically everywhere his skill set allows, and it is this excelled adaptability that will woo Europe’s powerhouses — not an agent-da.
Jordon Ibe’s unfortunate injury has meant that Europe’s Golden Boy has been stationed at wing-back against Blackburn in the FA Cup, Burnley and Manchester United in the league. Like his gifted teammate, the idea is that Sterling’s quick feet has more of the field to run into from deep. One of his other key selling points — his work ethic, is also summoned more in that role.
We’d all love to rather see Raheem in the forward positions — where he’s been for the majority of the campaign, and hopefully those minutes Jon Flanagan got in the All-Stars charity match means he’s dead close to Liverpool’s starting XI. What Sterling wants has temporarily warmed the pine for what the side needs, but still his positional acumen — over most else — is held in the highest regard across the continent.
Again, he has Rodgers to thank for that. Sterling knows it too. “The manager has blooded a lot of young players like myself and Jordon. He puts you in at the deep end and it seems like at that moment you are ready,” he said. “Every young player is getting a chance when they show they are working hard on the training pitch and that is credit to the manager for giving them the chance to shine at the highest level.”
Sterling’s opportunities dwarf that of Kane and Januzaj. He’s played well more than Shaw. Only ‘Ox’, who is a year older and had League One experience with Southampton before joining Arsenal, is in the same ballpark of appearances as the Reds ace. Opportunity is everything as a youngster and Raheem’s practically been given the keys to the city.
Sterling’s a great kid; polite and reserved, he still keeps in touch with all his old academy teammates and the staff. He excites the fans and is a treat for the technical team. It would be a shame for things to spin out of control due to poor guidance or misplaced priorities.
Rodgers previously stated: “Players are always replaceable. It doesn’t matter how good they think they are.” Sterling should sign the inflated offer already on the table while he’s still a main character on a stage and in a spotlight that suits him. The grass is not always greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda-Photo.
It is really is sad to see a young man having his career trashed in such a public way. You can just hear the conversations: Getting “bigged up” by “family” members, conversations being fuelled by the agent. I guess unless he grows a pair he really doesn’t have a chance.
He doesn’t even have to look far to see how badly wrong it can all go. Scott Sinclair, Freddie Adu, Savio Nsereko, John Bostock, Michael Johnson, Conor Wickham, the list is huge.
From a Liverpool perspective check out Wayne Harrison, Cherno Samba, Fernando Torres and even little Michael Owen. MO is a classic case, Houllier built the team around him, essentially making him appear far better than he actually was. Then having left the reds (in his own mind) he was all set to be the all conquering super hero striker winning the Champions League, the Ballon D’or and Nobel prize at the greatest club in the world, instead he spent more than 50% of the remainder of his career injured and one one more trophy (the Carling Cup!), To cap it all off, he was “advised” to play for Man Utd a decision that totally illustrates just how badly advised a player can be. Even Torres was welcomed back to Anfield with a classy reposnse from Liverpool supporters during this weekends charity game, despite the (final day of the transfer window) nature of his departure to Chavski, though I guess a lot of that was out of sympathy considering the car-crash of a career he has had to endure since leaving.
Footballers are not successful because of their IQ’s but even the most moderately learned individual can smell if something is not quite right and should be able to see what’s best for you and what’s best for the “hangers-on”. If you can’t, perhaps your not humble or smart enough to be a Liverpool player. Good luck with your career, your gonna need it.
YNWA
The fact is he wants roughy what Sturridge is on ? And I don’t see a problem with it, this contract will take him up to his 25th birthday.The same age as sturridge now , who can’t seem to stay fit for longer than 5 games ?, his age is irrelevant. The fact is he can play multiple positions, scores and creates goals. Pay the guy what he deserves and stop penny pinching and low balling ppl on contracts ! It’s becoming as embarrassing as how we negotiate with transfer targets
Hi Anthony,
Few problems with it IMO: Studge is the most prolific striker in his first 50 outings for LFC since George Allan in the late 19th century. He’s more experienced and is not still very much in the development stage like Sterling. It’s unfair to use hindsight and say he shouldn’t get that much due to his injuries this season, when if the club hadn’t offered him new terms, we’d be kicking off that they’re not being efficient in securing futures.
If Sterling demands what Sturridge wants, what stops Coutinho from doing the same when he feels like it? And then, what if next year, Can feels like he deserves that highest bracket too? It isn’t sustainable…
I would say it is sustainable because if they can all demand that and not be laughed out of the room, it means we now have 4 players (using your example) who we could sell for 30-40 million quid each in today’s market. So we keep two of them and sell the other two and get 60-80 million quid to reinvest in the squad.
I agree with what your saying about the where does it stop ! And I wasn’t trying to insult sturridge in any way. I know you didn’t insinuate I did , but just wanted to clarify it. Danny gets what he gets and rightly so, I just think sterling could be at that level in maybe a season or two , and if we don’t act know and secure our best young talents it will send out the wrong signals to any potential new signings. Which might be hard enough if we have no European football to offer namely champions league which I believe we can still achieve. Great article by the way really enjoyed it.
You can’t compare Sterling’s case to Shaw at Chelsea. Mourinho was looking for a 2nd choice LB and 120,000 would have been nuts. Obviously there were more valuable senior players at Chelsea like Terry, Ivanovic, Fabregas etc. whom Mourinho couldn’t offend by paying Shaw that kind of money.
BUT at LFC Sterling has been our most valuable player this season. He isn’t a 2nd choice LB like Shaw. He tops goal scoring, chance creation, dribbling etc, this season and with Sturridge’s frequent breakdowns Sterling is our go to guy once again. Sterling saved our season and Rodgers’ job as he was the only one who had the speed and the tactical nous to play lone CF in Sturridge’s absence.
Obviously when you compare Sterling to what other players in top clubs earn for his age and his position the 150k demands are bonkers. But the argument for Sterling getting that money has never been about what the going European wage rate is for a player like him but rather Sterling’s status in this club as the second best if not the best player. Sturridge got a new contract for 150,000 but he’s not as good nor had as great a career as Sanchez and co. . Should the club have not offered Sturridge those high wages in October then?
Sterling this season is our best most consistent player and for the foreseeable future will continue to be due to Sturridge’s injury problems and Coutinho’s inconsistencies without a mobile CF in front of him. Sterling deserves what the best player at a top European club (which I assume LFC are or at lest claim to still be) deserves. Right now Sterling deserves to be in the same wage bracket as Sturridge currently is.
Personally I don’t think Sterling will end up signing for 150k but something between 120-130 k is more reasonable once the negotiations are all said and done.
Sterling and his agents shouldn’t be blamed for exploiting their situation. That’s capitalism. The club should be blamed for putting themselves in a situation after spending on poor senior ‘marquee’ players like Balotelli and Lallana where a 20 year old is now one of the best players at the club.
Olisa
Shaw is the example because of market value/age. And Chelsea have never had problems overpaying, but they knew the spiral effect it would’ve had to offer a teenager that package.
No-one is disputing Sterling’s importance to LFC. Sturridge’s goals/game ratio for LFC says more about him than I can.
‘Sterling saved our season and Rodgers’ job as he was the only one who had the speed and the tactical nous to play lone CF in Sturridge’s absence’ – didn’t know it was Raheem who devised the system and played himself centrally ;)
Important to note that it was BR who made Sterling see he is more than just a winger and could make an impact centrally.
His age and the amount his contemporaries make is irrelevant. He’s one of the best 3-5 players at the club, so pay him the going rate. You’re worth what someone is willing to pay you, and he’d easily get the reported sum from any other big club. Also, professional athletes have a finite window to earn a living in their profession. So a journalist for example can play the long game and accept being underpaid for a while if it aids his/her long term development, because you can earn a living in that profession for 60+ years. A footballer has 10-15 years to earn enough money to live his entire life off of.
Hi Darren,
“He’s one of the best 3-5 players at the club, so pay him the going rate”
That is what the club are doing by offering him £100,000. That would make him the second-highest earner at the club when Stevie departs.
Melissa,
I take your point but that going rate also factors in what he can reasonably get on the open market. And while I understand the underlying point of your article I am always opposed to (for want of a better phrase) counting other people’s money, because none of us is walking into our workplace and not demanding the highest wage we can get. But, like someone else said though, his agent is pushing for 180,000 and the club are offering 100,000 so they’ll probably end up at 130,000. Reminds me of an old business adage that a good negotiation leaves both parties unhappy.
I guess it’s possible we have a case of young, talented footballer whose head has been turned by a duplicitous agent more concerned with his commission than the long-term development of one of Europe’s brightest prospects; but from this distance, it appears equally possible that an emerging talent with no historical ties to the club or area thinks he should be playing in the Champions League every year, something which right now is odds against were he to stay at Liverpool. He is only 20, but I wouldn’t immediately assume he’s not in control of the situation and/or not pulling the strings on these non-negotiations.
Personally, I think he’s off. There is no good reason for him delaying if his intention were to stay. If we make top 4 we may keep him, but without it I think he’s playing in London or Spain next year. He’s not Scott Sinclair, or Wickham or Zaha or any of those. If Sterling stays fit he plays in England’s next 10 games, no question. None of those other guys – however en vogue they might have been once upon a time – were ever in that bracket. I still think he’d be a fool to leave for the reasons given in the article (Rodgers at Liverpool is where you want to be as a promising, young, English footballer), but I don’t think he see things that way, probably because he no longer regards himself as simply “promising” thanks in no small part to the opportunities he’s been given at LFC.
That was me, btw.
Ah, looks like my comment was lost in moderation. Oh well.
Also, when billionaires and millionaires are arguing about money, I find it extremely fascinating when working class people start defending the billionaire.
Remember Shaun Wright-Phillips???
Whose bench do you want to warm?Many brilliant 20-year-olds end up as 25-year-old hasbeens. And I’m not sure it is all ‘avaricious agents’ : QPR can attest to that.
He’s an exciting but incomplete player, with great potential. But he’s not the best in Europe and will never likely be. I always say I don’t want anyone playing for us who doesn’t want to, and IF I was sure we’d make good of any money we get Id say cash in. But that is a HUGE ‘if’. Track record suggests not.
£150k per week= £37.5m over 5 years. That is the investment the owners are weighing up.What if he does fail to live up to his potential.? Then there is ffp to consider., although the new tv deal next year will massiveliy increase revenue.But if we lose kim , how much will it cost to replace him?
Can’t cope. Somebody please help me down from this fence
Lallana’s contract and fee is £40m over 5 years. Lovren a tad less.
Yes, it will be a big mistake, but simply he can be replaced by a player of his type, like Mohamed Salah from Fiorentina.
Why take the billionaire scumbag owners’ side in a contract negotiation? You’re playing right into their hands when they throw out contract numbers and you in turn start calling the player greedy and such. You may as well call yourself a pr for FSG. Let him get as much as he can.
He’s our most important player and more vitally, since he’s homegrown, we won’t be able to replace him easily in the transfer market. It’s not as if lower wages will mean lower ticket prices. Back the player, not the greedy owners who have made their billions already.
I’m sorry but this article was written with desperation and plee. Sterling knows his extremely talented and wants to win trophies which will never happen for a long time at Liverpool – even attracting world class players has proven a challenge at Liverpool. He’ll end up moving end of season most probably to a London team because, believe it or not geographics matter. Not looking good for Liverpool
What a joke. Just because arsenal finally one a trophy after so many barren years doesn’t mean it will become a habit. I don’t see arsenal winning anything else for years to come and most players feel the same way. The team is simply mentally weak and that doesn’t bode well.