London, April 2 (IANS) Liverpool forward Rahim Sterling on Thursday said he is not a “money-grabbing 20-year-old” after confirming he has refused a 100,000 pounds-a-week deal from the club.
Sterling also said he would not settle down on a contract from his club until the summer no matter how huge a deal he might be offered in the meantime.
“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,” the England forward was quoted as saying by bbc.com.
“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. I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old,” said the player, who has two years left on a contract worth 35,000 pounds-a-week.
Sterling said as a kid who loves playing football he would mainly concentrate on doing well for his team.
“I just want to be seen as a kid who loves to play football and to do the best for the team.”
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said in February that Sterling had been offered an “incredible deal for a young player” but now accepts talks will have to wait until the summer.
“I am sure it will be resolved and the concentration for Raheem is now on his football and it is clear the terms of when those talks will begin again,” Rodgers had said last month.
The striker said he would have accepted the proposal or lesser pay if he was offered a new deal last year when Liverpool was chasing the English Premier League title. But now he thinks the timing is a “bit off”.
“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’s future has been a source of almost endless speculation, with stories tipping him for a move to Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
“I try to kill it off, but I don’t think the public can see it that way. I think they just see it as this 20-year-old boy being greedy.”