Part of me hopes Liverpool get super prideful about this Sterling business, by refusing Citeh's offer and letting Sterling rot in reserves for two years (missing out on the crucial professional formative development he wants/needs to be the player he wants to be and earn the mula he wants to earn) as a lesson to him. Obviously they'd withdraw the £100k p/w contract they previously offered. They would be flushing £35.5m down the drain for the sake of:
- not being a feeder club for Citeh
- showing players (current and target alike), that the club is bigger than they are, and protecting Liverpool's proud reputation
- enjoying the financial benefits of being a big club in the long-term (rather than mid-tier/secondary to Citeh/Chelski etc)
Cloud cuckoo land, I know, but it'd be nice.