GETTY Brendan Rodgers tried to keep Raheem Sterling on £2k a week for as long as possible

Brendan Rodgers oversaw Raheem Sterling’s meteoric rise at Liverpool from the academy to first-team star. And it was not long before the winger was in the England set-up and on the radar of other top clubs. The 22-year-old was poached by Manchester City in 2015 for £45million after failing to agree a new deal with the Reds. However, in his early days at the club Rodgers has revealed he tried to keep Sterling on a low wage for as long as possible.

GETTY Raheem Sterling got a big-money move to Manchester City in 2015

“There is one common denominator when it comes to young players falling by the wayside – money,” Rodgers said. “It distorts reality. It changes people. I’m always cautious of that. “I had Raheem Sterling playing for England and a regular in the Liverpool first team on £2000 per week. “I couldn’t do it any longer than about the November time because he was absolutely brilliant, so we had to get him on a different contract.

Liverpool fans rage at Jurgen Klopp after defeat to Leicester Wed, September 20, 2017 Liverpool fans are not impressed with Jurgen Klopp after they were knocked out of the League Cup by Leicester City Play slideshow 1 of 10