Over the past couple weeks there has been speculation that Raheem Sterling will not be staying at Liverpool for the upcoming season. Though Sterling’s contract situation has been handled poorly by those involved, this week the problem reached new heights.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
The twenty year-old Liverpool star still has two years remaining in his contract, keeping him at Liverpool until 2017. Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool manager, has stated before “ I fully expect Raheem Sterling to see those two years through.” Despite the contract disputes, Rodger’s attitude towards Sterling has not changed. In fact, Sterling is expected to feature in the starting eleven against Stoke City on Sunday. “Our concentration is on the last game of the season,” urged Rodgers. The media remains fixed on Sterling adding pressure to the club. Nevertheless, the Liverpool manager insists that Sterling would not be unhappy with the prospect of having to stay at the club, however, Sterling’s agent says otherwise.
Who is Aidy Ward? As Raheem Sterling’s agent, Ward is in charge of the contract talks between his client and the club. This week, however, the man made himself infamous for his disrespectful comments during an interview with the Daily Standard. Aidy Ward began the interview with a passionate proclamation about his client’s intents, “he’s not signing for £700,000, £800,000, £900,000 a week, he is not signing.” Later in the interview, Ward continued by expressing his complete disregard for Liverpool Football Club, “I don’t care about the PR of the club and the club situation. I don’t care.” Unfortunately, the ongoing, public contract dispute has tainted the second half of Sterling’s season. When giving an unauthorized interview with the BBC, Raheem made his contract situation open to the public. Jamie Carragher, Sky Sports pundit and ex-Liverpool player, reacted to his interview by telling Sterling to “keep his mouth shut, and get on with playing football.” It was because of that comment that Aidy Ward felt the need to insult Carragher by calling him a “kn*b” in his interview with the newspaper. Tension is high between Raheem Sterling and Liverpool. Originally supposed to meet on Friday to discuss the contract, Liverpool postponed the meeting in light of the recent comments. Liverpool, unfortunately, has a tricky situation at hand.
Though a marvelous player, Raheem Sterling is now being recognized for his greedy and materialistic attitude. This situation has managed to outshine the stellar season he’s had for Liverpool. Sterling recently won young player of the year at the Liverpool Awards but was booed upon receiving the award. Though disrespectful, the booing served as an accurate representation of the supporters’ frustration. Nevertheless, contract talks will continue in the summer confirmed Brendan Rodgers.
Lissette Becherano
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