Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has warned Liverpool that they will be forced to sell Raheem Sterling should the 20-year-old decide he want to leave Anfield.
The England international is expected to start for the Reds today against Arsenal at the Emirates despite having angered the club by going public with his contract negotiations this week.
So for the winger has turned down a new deal worth £100,000 per-week and is now expected to be a target of Europe’s top clubs this coming summer.
Chelsea along with Manchester City and Arsenal are all being mentioned as possible destinations for the £50 million rated forward who has also sparked interest from Real Madrid.
While speaking about Chelsea’s interest Mourinho said: “Every deal is possible, but the club that sells is in control, not the club that buys. Not the agent, not the cousin.
“I lost my best player at Inter (Milan), too – Ibrahimovic.
“It worked out well, but the situation was simple; the player wants to go, wants to go, wants to go.
“We didn’t want. But Mr Moratti [then Inter president] analysed it with me and the board, the amount of money we wanted for him, and that we needed a top striker to replace him and we found a solution with Barcelona of changing Ibra for Samuel Eto’o plus a certain amount of money.
“I don’t like players that don’t want to play for me and my club, clearly.
“My opinion is every player has a price. It doesn’t matter which player. Every player has a price.
“But I also understand the philosophy of managers and clubs who want to keep the players at any price, who want just to say there is no price to sell, the player stays whatever. It’s also a philosophy I accept.”
Meanwhile Liverpool boss Rodgers is not worried about Sterling’s commitment and knows he could play a big part in whether or not they play Champions League football next season.
“He will play, he will play,” said Rodgers. “I expect him to react very strongly. I think he is a strong character.
“He’s a young boy, still learning, on and off the field, but I don’t think there was anything derogatory to Liverpool in terms of him.
“If it was a different player I would maybe have something to think about.
