Raheem Sterling will not be signing a new contract at Liverpool FC, even if the offer on the table made him the highest-paid player in all of Europe, his agent Aidy Ward has said.
Ward, also an agent of West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino, launched an extraordinary attack on former Reds defender Jamie Carragher, who criticised Sterling's representatives on Sky Sports earlier this week - branding the club legend a "kn*b".
Brendan Rodgers' side have been caught up in a lengthy battle to convince the highly-rated 20-year-old to stay at the club over the summer, with Sterling expected to tell the Reds hierachy that he does not plan to sign a new contract.
Sterling has already rejected an offer in the region of £100,000-a-week, which would put him up with some of Liverpool's best-paid stars, and will meet with Rodgers and chief executive Ian Ayre on Friday for further talks.
But Ward, whom the player shares a close relationship with, has insisted that there is no chance of Sterling signing a new deal at the club.
"I don’t care about the PR of the club and the club situation. I don’t care. He is definitely not signing. He’s not signing for £700,000, £800,000 or £900,000 a week. He is not signing," Ward told the London Evening Standard.
"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."
Ward has been littered with criticism from a variety of pundits and ex-professionals, including former Liverpool players Graeme Souness, Mark Lawrenson and Jamie Carragher.
The latter was visibly angered by the situation after the news broke whilst he was doing pundity for Monday Night Football, telling Sterling to "keep his mouth shut and get on with playing football."
But Ward, in reaction to Carragher's comments, bluntly added: "Carragher is a kn*b. 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."
Carragher also seemed to suggest that though Sterling had complained his previous deal was leaked to the press, that Ward was almost certainly behind it.
But Sterling's agent said: "How did this all occur? There is no smoke without fire."
Ward suggested that though Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are all believed to be interested in Sterling, the likes of Chelsea or Manchester City are more probable destinations for the promising youngster.
"I am not worried," he said. "Worried is making a decision not knowing what is going to happen. Every Premier League club will make a bid for him."