Things have gone from controversial to downright confrontational as the biggest transfer saga of 2015 continues to roll itself around in the muck. Raheem Sterling’s ambition to leave Liverpool was long thought to be a bit of an elephant in the room: many knew the Sterling might indeed want to leave, but no one had come out and said that that was exactly what he wanted. Until now, Sterling had reserved himself to merely asking for a better contract, turning down a lucrative £100,000-a-week offer from Liverpool.
There is no elephant in the room anymore, or, at least, no one is ignoring it; Sterling wants out, and his agent has made the point unequivocally clear.
After being roundly criticized by former Liverpool players and pundits alike over how he has handled contract negotiations, Sterling’s agent has ended all possibility of a Liverpool-friendly resolution. Speaking to the London Evening Standard, Aidy Ward said, “"He is definitely not signing. He's not signing for £700, £800, £900 thousand a week. He is not signing.”
He went on: "I don't care about the PR of the club and the club situation. I don't care.”
"My job is to make sure I do the best with them [my clients]. If people say I am bad at my job, or they are badly advised it does not matter.”
"I am not worried. Worried is making a decision not knowing what is going to happen. Every Premier League club will make a bid for him."
He even singled out one of Sterling’s loudest and most well known critics: ex-Liverpool center-back Jamie Carragher.
"Carragher is a knob," Ward said. "Everybody knows it. Any of the criticism from current pundits or ex-Liverpool players -- none of them things matter to me. It is not relevant."
If Sterling was a source of frustration before, he is going to be roundly hated by the majority of Liverpool support now, and perhaps the rest of the footballing world. The massive sums of money thrown at young footballers have long been heated talking points, and the twists and turns surrounding the status of 20-year-old Sterling will only fan those flames.
Sterling was due to sit down with Liverpool Manager Brendan Rogers and Chief Executive Ian Ayre this Friday, in order to talk about his contract and/or transfer. Presumably that meeting represented one of the last attempts of Liverpool to try and keep Sterling at the club. After Ward’s comments, that meeting has reportedly been cancelled.
It’s going to be a long Summer on the red side of Merseyside.
Follow Ivan on Twitter: @yetly
