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For someone who was adamant he isn’t merely ‘a 20-year-old being greedy’, Raheem Sterling has managed to cut himself a fair slice of humble pie – which he didn’t eat, but threw back in the face of Liverpool.
According to reports in the British press, the Reds have agreed to offload the Englishman. He will leave Anfield kicking and screaming following a volatile transfer saga he claims to be a victim of, but has largely perpetrated.
Sterling’s commitment to Liverpool was brought into question late last year and his dissatisfaction was confirmed as the season wore on; his performances matching his immature approach to being a wanted man.
There is no doubt Sterling is revered by Liverpool Football Club. Manager Brendan Rodgers labelled him the best young player in Europe in April 2014 and he became a crucial component of the side, particularly last season when he was often tasked with playing up front in the absence of Daniel Sturridge.
The tail end to the 2013-14 season was perhaps his best in a Liverpool shirt, helping to drive the Reds agonisingly close to a 19th league title. But Sterling will leave the club having shown but glimpses of his potential.
He won’t go down as a club legend, a road he was arguably on before he chose to derail any hope of that honour coming to fruition. Rodgers was probably right in saying the Englishman is the most talented player of his age on the continent, lest we forget he’s still five months shy of his 21st birthday.
But the way he’s conducted himself over the last six months in particular has cast a shadow over his reputation, something he must work immensely hard at repairing. It’s not that he needs to repay the Liverpool fans, who have – for the most part – shown a great desire to keep hold of a player they feel could have helped the club return to its status of old.
Sterling must repair his image, for no one more so than himself, and swiftly shift the focus back to football.
Though Sterling made clear he was keen for a move by rejecting a mammoth 100,000-pound-a-week offer from Liverpool, Rodgers and chief executive Ian Ayre had no intention of letting him go easily – if not because they were desperate to keep hold of him, then to at least ensure they got their money’s worth.
The 49-million-pound windfall is tidy for Liverpool, but in a way the sale of Sterling has set them back.
Owners Fenway Sports Group have, as part of their unwritten mission statement, a focus on youth development. Sterling joined Liverpool from Queens Park Rangers at the age of 15 – already an exciting prospect by that point but far from the finished product.
Having been signed by Rafael Benitez in 2010, he spent two valuable years with Liverpool’s youth team before he was ready for a first team debut under Kenny Dalglish.
Liverpool have helped mould him from a player with plenty of pace but a lacklustre final product to a player finally with the presence in front of goal required to take his game to the next level. Though he spurned some sitters last season (Newcastle comes to mind), it’s quite obvious that Rodgers has helped instil the Cristiano Ronaldo style of wing play into Sterling. He is, however, still a world away from the Portuguese.
In that regard, it’s been very much a one-way relationship between Rodgers and Sterling. FSG’s youth mentality has been upheaved, particularly if Jordon Ibe is once again sent out on loan this season as is expected.
Sterling has done himself no favours in his final days as a Liverpool player, calling in sick for training and showing no hunger to join the tour of Asia and Australia – club officials leaving him behind at the last minute. Reds legend Mark Lawrenson labelled the sickie a “classic toys-out-of-the-pram moment”, a sentiment shared by fellow icon Steven Gerrard.
“You don’t have to throw in illness, or refuse to go on tour,” Gerrard told Sky Sports. “There are millions of Liverpool fans waiting to see Raheem pull on a Liverpool shirt.
“It looks very disappointing from where I’m sitting. The fans have shown him great support, they want him to stay and I believe that he should too.”
Sterling is clearly getting advice from a number of people with questionable intentions, namely his agent Aidy Ward, who is believed to have helped fracture the relationship between club and player.
It’s unlikely Sterling will receive a warm welcome on his return to Anfield next March, but Liverpool fans will at least take solace in being on the receiving end of a hyperbolic transfer fee for a change.
The 49 million quid offered up by City’s money shredding owners is a sign of the impact of the Premier League’s home grown quota, which values talented Englishman at a hefty premium.
There is some trepidation from Liverpool circles, who have warned against seeing the cash influx as a bonus until it is spent wisely; the track record of which is quite blemished over the last five years.
Sterling marks the third major sale since FSG’s takeover. Fernando Torres was sold to Chelsea for 50 million pounds in 2011. With the cash, Kenny Dalglish invested magnificently in Luis Suarez, but countered that with exorbitant raids for Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing (a combined 55 million pounds for those with a selective memory).
The latter two were moved on at a significant loss, but by the time Suarez torched his final lifeline by biting Giorgio Chiellini and Liverpool was able to bank 75 million pounds thanks to Barcelona.
It should have been enough for Liverpool to bolster their squad and launch a serious challenge to go one better than the previous season. But recruits Rickie Lambert, Lazar Markovic, Javi Manquillo, Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli all misfired.
So there will be further doubts over how Liverpool will choose to invest the Sterling money. Already this summer, Rodgers has signed Joe Gomez, Nathaniel Clyne and Roberto Firmino for a combined 45 million pounds, as well as Adam Bogdan, Danny Ings and James Milner on free transfers.
With Sturridge to miss the start of the season through injury, Rodgers will focus on scooping Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke and potentially a defensive midfielder. With Manchester United making serious progress in the transfer market via the signings of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, Liverpool fans will be eager to see a high profile benefit to Sterling’s exit.
While the wound of realising that perhaps Liverpool doesn’t have the appeal required to keep hold of its best players at present may be sore, there will be another Sterling and the Reds will go again.
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