Would it be disastrous for Liverpool if Raheem Sterling forced his way out?

"It's not about the money at all, it's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career - that's all I talk about. I don't talk about how many cars I'm going to drive, how many houses I've got. I just purely want to be the best I can be. I don't want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old, I just want to be seen as a kid who loves to play football and to do the best for the team." - Raheem Sterling's interview with the BBC, on 1st of April 2015.

The Raheem Sterling contract saga bears striking and a worrying resemblance to the contract saga of not too long ago. That saga that ultimately led to the departure of Luis Suárez whose absence Sterling calls a ''dent''. The sight of Suárez, Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres at the Liverpool All-Stars game got Liverpool supporters thinking about what could have been. If how Suárez's saga ended and how Sterling's has begun is anything to go by, very soon fans will be engaged in another session of "what might have been". The player may also have reflections, thinking about ambitions to do things in years to come if things do not pan out as he and his agent/advisors anticipate. 

Suárez's decision to go to the media with his "let me leave" and "Liverpool should honour their promise" cry got backs up in Melwood; ultimately did not serve his cause. Raheem and his agent may have been oblivious to this or deliberately chose to go that path. Whichever way, they showed Liverpool scant respect and have annoyed the Liverpool hierarchy in the process. It is not that Liverpool had been spewing stories about the contract details. The media has been churning a lot of stories recently, some half-truths, conjectures, opinions and otherwise. 

Some of the media's information has come from the Sterling camp - those stories have muddied the waters and harmed Raheem's relationship with a rather agitated fan base. In going to the BBC, he and his agent perhaps wanted to calm down the rumours and ease off the headlines until the summer when talks are due to resume. But going to the BBC as opposed to LFCTV, doing so WITHOUT the permission of the club, Sterling's camp have probably lit the first matchstick to burning the bridge. How much better would the situation have been if in an attempt at calming down the rumours, Liverpool and Sterling's camp had issued a joint statement? After all both parties agreed to put contract talks on hold until the summer in the first instance. 

Somehow, Liverpool has had the knack for replacing departing stars. Dalglish replaced Keegan, Rush stepped up when Dalglish was stepping aside, Fowler took over from Rush, whilst Suárez replaced Torres. It seems there will always be a star at Anfield - but will there be a team talented enough to bring glory to Liverpool if Sterling leaves the club? Will the team be improved to make sure that twelve months on, a Lazar Markovic or an Adam Lallana armed with a brilliant season is not telling the media about money, cars, trophies and ambitions? 

Sterling himself suggested during the interview that he would have signed a new contract in the heat of the title chase last season, for less money than has been offered on the table recently. Clearly he was seeking his interest, but Liverpool did not make an offer. You can understand Sterling's preparedness to sign a contract last season. Mounting a proper title challenge, with top players such as Suárez and Gerrard, a club with momentum and ambitions for the future. The club's position can also be viewed from the angle that he was just a little over a year into a five-year deal and had only began putting in impressive performances consistently. Given his progress it is easy to froget that at the start of the 2013-14 season, there were reports of him being offered up to clubs on a loan basis. Also easy to forget, he never got going that season until the match at Anfield against Norwich City in December. 

Each camp was seeking its own interest - no wonder loyalty seems a scarce commodity in football. But it should count for something to be given the chance in a top club as a team, nurtured and guided by a helpful manager and supported by one of the best set of fans in the word? 

"For Raheem to be playing here is an honour for him, to play here at a club like Liverpool in-front of our great supporters. He has been involved with the first-team for two-and-a-half years and is the player he is because of this environment, what we've created." - Rodgers said this in his press conference on Thursday. 

But has Sterling's career developed beyond Liverpool's status and ambition? To the extent that some are predicating his signature of the dotted lines of Champions League qualification? As talented as he is, Sterling is no Suárez. Sterling is an exceptional talent and has progressed very well in the last two years. He has played an instrumental role in The Red's mid-season resurgence. He made Rodgers’ 3-4-3 formation tick when it was first deployed. But he should not be and is not bigger than the club; and a club like LFC for that matter. Contrary to what has been portrayed, Sterling has not been carrying Liverpool this season. Others - Henderson, Can, Sakho and Coutinho - have all played key roles for the team this season. He belongs to the group of talented youngsters the club hopes grow into a formidable team.

For some years now Liverpool’s transfer dealings have been about buying bright young talents for reasonable for the long term. That is a far cry from the period of over generous expenditure on average players. Liverpool currently has a number of promising and talented young players. But the dynamics of the global game now rarely favours the dogmatic. If a club’s approach is to spend its way to the top, it will get bitten by the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Conversely if clubs focuses solely on buying cheap potentials they risk not being able to challenge for trophies and that in turn makes their talents attracted and attractive to those who can win the trophies.

Instead of Sterling contract saga, Liverpool and Sterling need a summer where the policy is mixed up. Sterling has been growing in this team, getting opportunities to play regularly to develop. He just wants to fight for trophies, he says. LFC is a club built for just that.

“If Raheem is saying that his ambition is to win trophies and be successful, then it's perfectly aligned with what we're looking to do. Arsenal is a fantastic football club, of course, but this is Liverpool and this is one of the great clubs of the football world” Rodgers said.

A change in approach in the transfer market is required to get to the next level and make sure they and their top talents are headed in the same direction. This is more than a sterling desire. Coutinho, Henderson, Sakho and Can will welcome quality established stars. Would this Sterling conversation be going on if Suarez’s cash aside the top young talents, brought in a world class striker and centre- back? Possibly LFC would have been challenging for the “trophies” Sterling says he craves, and the “timing won’t be off” to sign a new contract for less as he was prepared to do last season. That is if his “it’s not about money at all” theory holds.

“Their young squad is a good thing – they had a very young side against City, and they were so impressive I questioned the age of the City team afterwards.

“But there is that thing with Liverpool, I have felt they are always buying players with potential. I think in terms of looking to the future, it looks rosy, but you don’t want to be continually looking ‘oh this team in three years time’.

“You want to see what they’re like next season, so maybe buy two or three players at 25 or 26 to go straight into the team. You don’t want to go to the summer and buy another three 20-year-olds and always be looking what it is going to be like tomorrow. We want it today.”

Ex-Liverpool star, Jamie Carragher, speaking in March emphasized the need for the club to focus on bringing in proven talents not potentials in the summer.

Lots of pundits see last summer’s transfer window as a missed opportunity for Liverpool. They lost a world class player in Suarez, had huge funds to buy and Champions League as a pull. Yet they never brought in a truly established star(s) to help the team kick on from last season’s progress. If Sterling is to leave, the decisions ought to be better this time. For all his talent, Sterling’s departure from LFC will not be a disaster especially if Liverpool gets top dollar for him and as a bonus is not sold to any EPL rival. Liverpool teams in recent years have been weakened by top stars-Alonso, Suarez, Mascherano-leaving. But they have been made poorer by those who have been brought in as replacements-Poulsen, Joe Cole, etc. Better players than Sterling have left Liverpool. What should happen if he and his agent, Aidy Ward continue treading on this path is to make sure his replacement(s) are even better.

Currently there may not be footballers in his age bracket as good as he is. But it is agreed by all who have had a bite of this Sterling issue that he is not yet the finished article. If he makes the move and is replaced by an established star like Carragher is calling for, that will be an upgrade, not a loss. The lack of Champions league may make that difficult but the need for more proven quality is even critical given the loss of Suarez, Agger, Gerrard in the last 12 months.

The table below looks at how some of the players Liverpool should aim for if Sterling is to walk away compare with the Englishman.

SpG - Shot per game, Disp - dispossesion per game, PS - Pass Success, KP - Key pass per game, BC - bad control, TB - through ball, Drb - dribbling per game, MOTM - man of the match (Stats courtesy of WhoScored)

Other players who can be included in the category above are Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona) Miralem Pjanic (Roma)

There is an element of opportunism in the timing of Sterling’s interview given that it only came at the end of the 13 match unbeaten run which made champions league qualification bleak. Prior to that it was becoming obvious that if the team was improved they will continue being of relevance at the top end of the league table next season. The way Rodgers got his team excelling again despite the absence of Suarez, injuries of Sturridge and Gerrard points to a bright future if they get their activity in the transfer market right.

Liverpool are under no pressure to sell Sterling; definitely not this summer and probably the next if Rodgers strong words are to be believed.

"Liverpool is one of the superpowers of football and the owners have made it clear - and we've seen it before - that the money doesn't come into it. So if the club isn't going to sell and doesn't want to sell, it won't sell. It's as simple as that". Rodgers was emphatic.

FSG, Liverpool’s owners have so far been decisive in dealing with potentially troubling contract negotiations. Should Sterling decide not to sign a new deal and Liverpool stick to their hard-line stance of not countenancing a sale in the summer, he will be losing £ 65,000 per week for a further year, based on LFC’s wage offer of £100,000. Would he be prepared to be playing a key role in a team whiles on lower wage than some squad players? It may not be a problem for “a kid who loves to play football”. Downing his tools for the 2015/16 season to try to engineer a move cannot be an option with Euro 2016 at the corner. If a deal so good comes around Liverpool may decide to sell. But what happens after the sale will determine whether it was disastrous to have let him go, not the sale itself.