Pep Guardiola heaps praise on Raheem Sterling as contract negotiations continue to stall
Sterling is reportedly after a substantial rise in his wage before committing to a new deal
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pep Guardiola has refused to weigh in on Raheem Sterling’s lengthy contract negotiations and continued to heap praise on the Englishman.
Sterling is in talks with Manchester City to sign a new deal and wants a significant increase on his £175,000-a-week deal that expires in 2020, according to reports.
The England international pulled out of Gareth Southgate’s squad with a back injury, but will be available for selection against Fulham this weekend in the Premier League.
Guardiola, who sees Sterling as a key player in a number of positions, refused to get drawn into the details of the contract talks and instead praised the 23-year-old.
“It’s well-known that we are delighted with him, we would like him to continue,” said the City manager. “After [all], it is the club and the agent. I am not involved. Sometimes these kind of things need their own time.
“What’s important is that Raheem and his people know how delighted we are with him,” he added.
City have recently agreed new deals with Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Ederson and want to add Sterling to that list as soon as possible.
With Financial Fair Play in mind, City are offering basic wage packets with added performance related bonuses, image rights and a signing-on fee to be spread over the length of the contract. Sterling has been offered a package with the main increases arriving in 2019/20 and 2020/21, but he and his advisors believe he deserves sooner reward, reports The Times.
It was claimed by Guardiola that De Bruyne, who signed a deal in January to keep him at City until 2023, had a €250m release clause in his contract, but the manager revealed in his new conference that he was misquoted and doesn’t “know what his release clause is”.
On De Bruyne’s knee injury, which has restricted him to just 30 minutes this season, Guardiola said he will not be fit for Saturday’s clash for Fulham but is recovering well.
“He’s not fit for tomorrow but the doctor told me he is progressing well.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments