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Brendan Rodgers rubbished suggestions that his relationship with Raheem Sterling had broken down as he confirmed the Liverpool winger was on the brink of completing a £49million move to Manchester City.

The Reds boss insisted there was no rift between him and the England international after the acrimonious summer-long transfer saga finally reached a conclusion.

Sterling’s camp had claimed the youngster needed to quit Anfield because there had been “a breakdown in trust” between them. That’s something the Northern Irishman strongly refutes.

The 20-year-old was left out of the squad who touched down in Bangkok today after City increased their offer with £44million up front and a further £5million in add-ons.

Rodgers, speaking in the Thai capital, said: “The situation is currently very simple.

“The club has agreed with another club a deal for Raheem to be transferred and subject to medical that will go through.

“Contrary to probably the last week or so in terms of what was written, Raheem and I have stayed very strong in our relationship and have been right up until we left. So there is no issue there.

“I spoke to Raheem at length before I left yesterday. There is no problem and I said the two clubs have agreed a deal.”

Any business we get done will be behind the scenes

Rodgers refused to be drawn on whether Liverpool would re-invest that cash windfall on a replacement for Sterling.

The Reds have already splashed out £29million on Brazil attacker Roberto Firmino.

“My only interest is to talk about players that are here with us on the tour,” he added.

“These are the only ones that matter at this time. Maybe in the future that is something that will happen or will not happen.

“The most important players are the likes of Lucas Leiva and his team-mates who are here to work and prepare for pre-season.

“At this moment in time our objective is to get as fit as we possibly can.

“I spent a lot of last season talking about transfers and that’s something I don’t really want to do this year.

“Any business that we get done will be done behind the scenes. When we sign a player and it is announced you will be the first to know.”

Rodgers admitted he was delighted with the business Liverpool have already done with six signings complete prior to the start of pre-season.

We need the team to be stronger and more competitive than last season

Firmino is still on holiday following the Copa America but new boys James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan and Joe Gomez are on the tour.

“It was important for us to improve and build the squad this season. We are very pleased with the players we have brought in,” he said.

“The key for us is the overall team. Individuals like Raheem would have benefited from the team.

“We obviously need the team to be stronger and more competitive than we were last season but that will be reliant on everyone.

Gallery: Liverpool new boys train

“We have started the pre-season in this first week, the camp has been strong, the focus has been hard and we just want to continue that way and take that confidence into the beginning of the season.”

Asked about Firmino’s talent, Rodgers added: “He is a top class player and played in Europe in a very good league but there is no pressure.

“He will come into the Premier League and Lucas knows as well as anyone it takes that bit of time to adapt.

“He has all the traits and profile in terms of what we want as a player.

"He works very hard, a talented player, scores goals, so we are really excited and look forward to him coming in.”