Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling rejected a new improved contract to stay at Liverpool, according to sources; he rejected a £70,000 weekly contract with other bonuses and said that he is nowhere near signing a new contract with the Merseyside club. This would be really bad news for the club who wanted to tie down the highly rated youngster who has not only become a regular at Liverpool but also broke into the English national team recently.
Raheem SterlingSterling has been courted by a lot of big clubs, which include the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, in fact Xavi had come out with a quote saying how he would fit well into the team, with Liverpool’s season in disarray and it looks really likely that they won’t be able to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season, Raheem could be off to sunnier shores. The 20 year old still needs to learn a lot and grow as a footballer and here are 3 clubs where the young Englishman should move to if he wants to grow and become one of the best footballers in the world.
Real Madrid
Before you say that moving to Madrid will not help him grow and that he would only move for the money, think about the British players who have moved to Real over the years. Gareth Bale, David Beckham and Steve McManaman, all did brilliantly at the Spanish club, there will always be a few which don’t fit in like the rest Owen and Woodgate come to mind but Woodgate was dogged by injuries and when he was fit he was a first teamer at Madrid.
Sterling is young, fast and still needs to learn a bit more, something that was a similar case with Gareth Bale, though Bale had spent quite a few years playing in the Premier League with Tottenham. Sterling going to Madrid would not be the worst option when it comes to development, he would be getting game time, not as much as he would at Liverpool but he would be playing alongside some of the best players in the world. Modric, Kroos, Ronaldo, Benzema, Khedira and Bale, all would be there to teach something to the youngster, he wouldn’t mind sitting on the bench if he had these players to train with on a regular basis.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger knows how to help the growth of young players; he has taken raw talent and transformed them into world class players. Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas are some of the players who are now considered to be the best to have put on the Arsenal jersey.
Even if they don’t become the greatest players, they do become better when they are at Arsenal, if you look at the current crop of players, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Theo Walcott all have grown since they have signed with Arsenal.
Although purchasing Sterling might be a little tough since the Gunners are direct rivals to Liverpool, crazier things have happened in football and Raheem moving to London would be a good move for him in terms of growth although he would certainly be making a lot of fans unhappy with the move, anyone remember Fernando Torres?
Barcelona
The same reasons as moving to Real Madrid, Barcelona are one of the clubs where players can grow and become better, there have been a few cases of flops but that rarely happens. Barcelona have just as good an attack as Real with Messi, Suarez and Neymar playing as the front three and Raheem might not be playing first team football regularly but he would certainly learn a lot from the likes of Messi and Suarez. In fact Sterling had his best season when he was playing along Suarez and Sturridge, two fast strikers and he could do the same if he moved to Barcelona.
Xavi had already stated that Sterling would be a player who could play in Barcelona and that he has physically and technically good enough to play for Barcelona one day, high words from one of the best Spanish midfielders ever, so Barcelona might be calling soon for Raheem Sterling, though Liverpool fans would want him to stay at the club forever.