TalkSPORT presenter and former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has said that contract holdout Raheem Sterling should either accept the generous offer Liverpool have put before him, or be told he can leave the club if he thinks it is below him.
At the moment Sterling is reportedly not ready to sign what manager Brendan Rodgers called an “incredible” new deal for a player who is only 20-years-old.
Rodgers insisted on Monday that the club would not be held to ransom by Sterling or his representatives over a deal that was first offered him a month ago.
Real Madrid meanwhile are thought to be preparing an offer for the Jamaican born player should he not sign a new deal with the Reds.
Former Liverpool player Collymore believes that Sterling would be well advised to remain at Anfield saying: “If Liverpool offer Sterling between £75,000 and £90,000 a week, he is doing exceptionally well on a five-year contract.”
“If he’s asking for £130,000 or £150,000 and wants to be the club’s top earner, do you know what I would do?
“I would honestly sell him, as good as he had been for Liverpool.
“They have benefitted from the emergence of players like Philippe Coutinho and Jordon Ibe, while Daniel Sturridge has come back and I think they will biff off Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert and get in another good striker.
“Sterling is a player who is obviously important to Liverpool, but I don’t think he’s a huge deal breaker down the line.
“By all accounts it seems that it is true Sterling is a target for Real Madrid, but he is living in an absolute dream world if he thinks he is getting in that team ahead of Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema.
“He could be sat on Real Madrid’s bench for a couple of years, not get a game, get forgotten about, not necessarily get a game for England and end up coming back with his tail between his legs.”
