Raheem Sterling Contract Stand Off
By David Crook
Raheem Sterling is currently contracted to play for Manchester City until 30 June 2020 when he will become a free agent. After the transfer window closes in January 2020 he would be free to negotiate a transfer with another club.
As one of the most exciting young forwards in world football there would be number of elite clubs interested in him should he become available at the right price. Pep Guardiola wants to keep him and has urged for a resolution as quick as possible.
Sterling is represented by the football agent Aidy Ward who became notorious in his dealings with Liverpool FC which ultimately resulted in his transfer to City on July 14 2015 for a fee of around £50 million. Sterling famously turned down the Liverpool contract offer of £110k per week and signed a contract at City of around £170k per week including bonuses.
Manchester City have developed a strategy of securing the worlds best young football talent and Sterling is an integral part of that approach. But this strategy is somewhat upskittled when young players develop fast and see other players rewarded more handsomely in the transfer market.
City have attempted to secure their assets by signing longer term enhanced deals with players such as Ederson, Kevin De Bruyne , Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. They have attempted to negotiate a new contract to tie Sterling to the club for the last 12 months but the deal remains unsigned.
There are three stumbling blocks remaining in these negotiations and so far City appear to be intransigent in their position. Believing firmly they do not wish to create an inflation busting series of rises amongst their settles first team squad.
Firstly, Sterling and his agent continue to look for pay parity with the highest paid player at the club. Without a doubt Sterling has had a phenomenal season last year but our highest earner is KDB on a pay and bonuses deal worth around £300k per week. Whilst Sterling is a huge talent and still a young player he is not yet considered to be in the world class elite of players and so this accounts for the reluctance of City. If signing Sterling to these teams then what will the club do with the Belgian superstar? A further pay rise?
The second point is that the Alexis Sanchez deal to Manchester United. It’s been well documented City were keen to sign the player and had agreed a contract but Jose Mourinho and the club made an incredible offer which City would not match. The size of this pay deal has sent repercussions throughout world football and left players like Sterling and agents like Ward considering the implications. There is nothing wrong with that. The agents are there to protect the players and the players careers are short.
Sanchez signed a contract with the rivals seemingly guaranteeing a basic salary of £440k a week plus £75k appearance money and bonuses. Utd are currently dealing with the implications of this deal with their pay and contract statuses as assets such as Paul Pogba actively agitating for parity or a move. Whilst City can be commended for walking away from this unreasonable deal, it has nevertheless had implications on their transfer business as it has inflated an already volatile market.
And finally, there is City who believe their intransigence is a righteous virtue, promoting the values they wish to espouse in the market. As we saw with Jorginho, City pride themselves in integrity and trust – putting these values above the passing vagaries of the transfer markets. So if their position costs them player so be it, there are always others.
The difficulty with the Sterling situation though is the longer the contract stand off continues the more cards are held by the player and the agent in the negotiating. Knowing other elite clubs may pay higher wages is a clear factor in the positioning of Sterling as the contract offer on the table remains unsigned. It is rumoured City have offered £220k per week plus bonuses.
As his contract dwindles his transfer value decreases. It’s clear that Sterling and Ward are testing the philosophy that Guardiola attracts the best players.
City have to face facts – whilst there are other players out there, there are few who are capable of playing at these levels for this kind of club. As Liverpool have shown even average players can cost in excess of £50 million.
It is my hope negotiation with City continues and even if it means agreeing to parity with KDB then securing Sterling on a long term deal is worth that.
In today’s market, I think we could all agree he is worth the money and presents potentially good value. Other players could also be renegotiated in the future so as to keep everyone happy and, in the post Sanchez world, City may just have to accept the inflation in wages that the deal has caused.