{"id":149,"date":"2015-07-13T17:18:56","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T17:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/?p=149"},"modified":"2016-07-13T11:22:56","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T11:22:56","slug":"a-sterling-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andcouldheplay.com\/a-sterling-character\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sterling Character"},"content":{"rendered":"
It looks like it\u2019s all over. The most protracted, vicious and ludicrous transfer saga that Liverpool FC have had to endure since Suarez wanted to go to Arsenal 2 years ago appears to be coming to a close.<\/p>\n
In case you\u2019ve been on holiday, live under a rock or are\u2026well\u2026dead, allow us to recap.<\/p>\n
Raheem Sterling would have signed a contract with Liverpool if he\u2019d been offered one at the end of the 2013-2014 season, but he wasn\u2019t. The club decided that, with 2 years left on his contract, there wasn\u2019t any rush on sorting out the youngster\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Then Luis Suarez left Liverpool, he wasn\u2019t replaced successfully and the season that followed was an over-whelming disappointment. Sterling had his head turned by the possibility of a move elsewhere and his agent, Aidy Ward, began to realise there could be a big pay off for himself and his client if they began the leaving of Liverpool.<\/p>\n
The Reds realised there were some issues on the horizon and so they initiated talks with the winger, reportedly offering him close to \u00a3100,000 per week to sign a new deal. Sterling and Ward said no, asking for talks to be delayed until the end of the season.<\/p>\n
When the end of the season came, Ward and his client still weren\u2019t interested in signing a new contract with Liverpool. Ward was quoted in the Evening Standard as saying, \u201cRaheem won\u2019t sign for \u00a3700,000, \u00a3800,000, \u00a3900,000 a week. He\u2019s not signing\u201d. On the back of the quotes Liverpool decided to cancel the talks and a stalemate ensued.<\/p>\n
This coming not long after Sterling gave a somewhat unconvincing interview to the BBC in which he claimed his motivation for wanting to leave Liverpool was nothing to do with money, and was all about his ambition. It was an interview that Liverpool knew nothing about and had not sanctioned.<\/p>\n
Then, as pre-season began, Sterling went to Melwood for training with the sole notion of telling Brendan Rodgers he didn\u2019t want to play for the club any more and that he didn\u2019t want to be taken on the pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East. Rodgers refused his request, telling him he was expected to go on the tour.<\/p>\n
The following day Sterling phoned in sick for training, failing to appear with the rest of the Liverpool squad. The day after he failed to turn up again, this time not even bothering to call in, apparently.<\/p>\n
Then on Saturday gone he reappeared and was told in no uncertain terms that he was expected to go on the Liverpool tour. Failure to get on the plane would be considered to be a serious breach of his contract and could have resulted in a major financial punishment for the Jamaican born England international.<\/p>\n