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At some point in the past few weeks, Raheem Sterling’sLiverpool FC career was upgraded from a ‘situation’ to a ‘saga’.

Sterling yet to sign a new contract? A situation. Sterling won’t enter contract talks until the end of the season? A situation, albeit a worsening one.

Sterling’s agent is rude about a club legend, states his client wouldn’t sign for almost £1m-per-week and the player is now attracting bids from Premier League clubs? Saga. A full-blown one, too.

It is a word used far too often, entering the football lexicon around at the same time as scrolling yellow tickers and transfer window frenzy. Now, a player only has to give a non-committal response to a foreign radio station and it is deemed a saga.

But make no mistake, the Sterling situation is now a saga. A wanton desire to leave Anfield; bids from top-flight rivals; heckles from his own support. A story well-told, both at Anfield and elsewhere.

A transfer saga cannot be defined. It can be quick and painless, or it can twist and turn more than Adam Lallana. But once it has become a saga, it stays a saga until its conclusion.

What conclusion that is, however, remains to be seen.

The common consensus is that Sterling will leave Liverpool. If not now, then in January or next summer. Rejection of Manchester City’s opening bid was nothing more than confirmation of his eventual departure – his destination yet to be determined.

History, specifically Liverpool history, would suggest that is the inevitable outcome. The Reds have been subject to these transfer sagas before, and it rarely ends in their favour.

The Sterling saga has turned ‘nasty’, but here is how other sagas turned out for the club.

IN PICS: Raheem Sterling - the story so far

The short-term saga: Michael Owen

There had been whispers of Owen moving elsewhere – Lazio, during their time as a financial powerhouse at the turn of the century, were very much interested – but the England striker had always seemed a good fit for the Reds.

Even when named European Player of the Year in 2001, as a treble winner, the links to continental clubs seemed mischievous and superfluous. His contract situation, with his deal expiring in 2005, was never a matter of urgency.

In the background, however, Real Madrid waited. Boss Gerard Houllier had to dismiss speculation linking him with a move in 2002, saying: “They might be able to afford Ronaldo but they cannot afford Michael Owen.

“For that kind of money they could only buy his left foot but he is not going anywhere. Michael is Liverpool through and through and he is staying with me.”

But after signing David Beckham the year before, the La Liga side made their move for Owen with just one year left on his contract.

Liverpool had not long appointed Rafael Benitez as their new manager and were a club in transition; no sooner had details of Real’s interest emerged and Owen found himself on the bench for Benitez’s first game, a Champions League qualifier against Grazer AK.

Confirmation, essentially, of his departure with the Reds keen not to cup-tie the striker.

How it relates to Sterling: It doesn’t. Real’s courtship and subsequent signing of Owen was a speedy affair.

The accepted saga: Luis Suarez

When Liverpool found themselves with one of the best players in Europe, it felt a matter of time before the rumblings of his departure began.

Suarez, true to form, didn’t waste any time and did it himself, sending a seismic shock around Anfield. In the summer of 2013, his message was clear: Luis Suarez does not want to be a Liverpool player any more.

The Uruguayan went to the national media to tell of his desire to leave. The club responded strongly, insisting he was going nowhere, with Rodgers making the striker train alone. Suarez, banned for the first six games, eventually reintegrated into the squad and helped the Reds to second place.

The performances on the pitch took centre stage, but in the background, the feeling remained: the better Suarez becomes, the harder it is to keep him. Even the signing of a new, long-term contract was duly met with strong suspicion. His move to Barcelona, for £75m, proved that right.

He left, however, having made a huge impression on the team – it was a transfer saga, short in execution but long in the mind, that was always going to happen.

How it relates to Sterling: In a way, this whole saga was also inevitable with Sterling enjoying a rapid rise as one of Europe’s finest young talents. Suarez left the Reds, but did so having given one more uninterrupted season free of distraction.

Liverpool fans would no doubt hope for similar, although there is more acrimony towards Sterling now than Suarez then.

The long-term saga: Xabi Alonso

Alonso’s final few years at Anfield were accompanied with whispers and claims. Not a public house within a four-mile radius of Anfield didn’t contain a conversation over how Alonso wanted to go back to Spain. There was also, naturally, rumours of a fall-out between Alonso and Rafael Benitez.

It began in 2008, with the Reds keen on Gareth Barry. Alonso has since confirmed he would have departed if Barry had come to the club. Barry, then of Aston Villa, did not sign. Alonso stayed and – in a manner similar to Suarez – was a key part of the Reds’ title challenge the following season.

But his move away from the club went through, a quick resolution to a long-term expectation. He joined Real Madrid in a £30m deal to finally end the speculation over his future. Few were surprised.

How it relates to Sterling: It may feel like a long-term saga, but it has hardly been six months since news of Sterling’s reluctance to sign a new contract. There could be plenty more links to Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid to deal with until his fate is sealed.

The alls-well-that-ends-well saga: Steven Gerrard

It was over a decade ago now, but Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool future was the feature of intense speculation for two years, with Chelsea very keen on bringing him to Stamford Bridge. It was long-term and, in part, accepted because of his talent – although the potential destination of West London caused plenty of anger.

Still, Chelsea were the new power of English football, funded by Roman Abramovich’s hundreds of millions. They first tried in the summer of 2004, but Gerrard, eventually, remained at Anfield; a year later, the Champions League winning captain came even closer to departing. “I fully intended to sign a new contract after the Champions League final, but the events of the past five to six weeks have changed all that,” he said.

Gerrard stayed again, this time for good. Interest from Real Madrid and Inter Milan also proved futile. Until this summer, the midfielder was set to be a one-club man – but still departs a Liverpool legend.

How it relates to Sterling: It is hard to see how Sterling could ever come close to the status of Gerrard at Anfield; likewise, it is hard to see how he would have such a change of heart to have the chance to do so.

The original saga: Kevin Keegan

Before 24-hour rolling news, the Internet and Justin Bieber, there was Kevin Keegan.

The striker, who had joined the Reds in 1971 from Scunthorpe, had negotiated a release clause of £500,000 in his latest contract. It was a tactic designed to attract suitors elsewhere, particularly abroad; with such a (relatively) low transfer fee, it would allow Keegan to be paid more handsomely.

It was a smart move from the striker, an appreciation of financial reward way ahead of most. “Selfish and self-centred are perhaps not the right words,” said Bob Harris, one of Keegan’s many biographers. “But he was very much his own man. He knew what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it and would fight for that.”

Hamburg answered the call and so, throughout the 1976-77 season, Liverpool and Keegan played in the knowledge he was to leave Anfield. The Reds, inspired by Keegan, would lift their first European Cup – the third leg of an historic treble.

How it relates to Sterling: It could do, surprisingly. A new contract with a release clause, as proven by Suarez’s deal, is certainly an option the club could take.

(Image: Action Images)

The nasty saga: Raheem Sterling

Here is a timeline of how the Sterling saga has unfolded.