I am not playing for money: Liverpool's Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling’s future is up in the air

Liverpool player Raheem Sterling said that he is not playing for the money and reiterated that he does not want people to recognize him as a money-grabbing youngster. The 20-year-old rejected the offer that Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had deemed “incredible”. The offer would have seen the player receive a salary around £100,000 per week.

Sterling, who currently earns £35,000-a-week, claimed that he is tired of being questioned about his contract and said that he will no longer hold any more talks about his contract until the end of the season.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Raheem Sterling said, “I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old.

“I just want to be seen as a kid that loves to play football. 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.” However, he stopped short of saying he wanted to stay with Liverpool,” he continued.

Sterling rejected contract to focus on football: Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers, though, claimed that the player had rejected the offer to concentrate on his football. When he was asked if Sterling was stalling the offer in hopes to see if Liverpool will qualify for the Champions League, the Irishman said, “I’m not sure it is about that. I think it is purely so he can concentrate on his football. I think he is a young kid that now every time he is interviewed or asked it is about his contract.”

Sterling reaffirmed his manager’s words. He said, “I keep hearing I’ve rejected all sorts of contracts. Me, the club and my reps have spoken about it and put talks on hold until the end of the season, so it’s frustrating to hear the contract situation keep going on and on. I just wanted to get my point across on the whole thing.”

Sterling went on to say that if he was offered a contract the previous year, he would have probably signed it for a price much less than £100,000.

“If, at that point in time, I was offered a contract, I most definitely would have signed straight away, probably for far less money than being said now,” he said. “I just think the timing was a bit off.”

Sterling who is currently in sensational form helped England in the match against Lithuania by scoring a goal for the Three-Lions during the International break.

Sterling who was recently linked to Arsenal in a sensational move, he said he was quite flattered, but said, “I try to just block everything out and do well. Next game is against Arsenal and I want to do my best. I won’t be hiding. As I said, I’m just happy to be playing football.”