Raheem Sterling's Agent, Aidy Ward, Opens Up on Jurgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers

Aidy Ward, the agent of Manchester City and England star Raheem Sterling, has claimed his client “should still be at Liverpool,” insisting the winger would have been much better off under new manager Jurgen Klopp than he was under former boss Brendan Rodgers.

Ward suggested in an interview with the Daily Mail’s Adrian Durham that working alongside Klopp, who replaced Rodgers after he was sacked earlier this month, would have been ideal for the England international:

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Would Raheem under Klopp have been a good scenario? Yes, 100 per cent, definitely, mainly because of the person Klopp is—the passion, the drive, the emotion, wanting to achieve.

Raheem has all of this, but you won't always see it outwardly. Working with Klopp—that could have been great. He's going to get the best out of those players. It could have been a dream come true.

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Klopp helped nurture a lot of young players during his time at Borussia Dortmund and his managerial principles seem to marry up with Sterling’s attributes. The German demands his players are hard-working, incisive on the ball and sharp in transitions, all areas in which the former Liverpool starlet excels.

This is Anfield’s Jack Lusby thinks that although Sterling is doing well at City, Klopp would have got the best out of the forward on Merseyside:

Sterling and his agent were widely criticised for their role in the 20-year-old’s £49 million summer switch between Liverpool and City. But Ward has opened up about the deal for the first time and has been hugely critical of Rodgers’ role in the youngster’s exit:

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Raheem could've stayed, he should be at Liverpool. I think for me it was like he was being told to be a good boy and sign a contract. In December I spoke to Liverpool and said we'll sign a contract if there is a buy-out clause—those clauses are now common practice. They said no to that.

Then there was an underhandedness, there were sly remarks. In press conferences, Brendan told everyone Raheem would sign—why do that? I knew, Brendan knew and Liverpool knew there was an issue. Right now he probably should be a Liverpool player, but he's not and he's in a great place at City.

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Sterling revealed in a BBC Sport interview in April that he had turned down a lucrative deal with the Reds, insisting he was not a “money-grabbing 20-year-old” and rejecting Liverpool’s offer was “not about the money at all.” Still, the reputation he gained among a lot of supporters was exactly that, especially when he opted to join City.

Ward insisted Rodgers was the major reason behind Sterling leaving the club, admitting he had “no issue” with anyone at Liverpool apart from the Northern Irishman. “Good coach, but as a manager I didn't like certain things about how he dealt with Raheem,” he added. “Fifty per cent of the players would probably tell you Brendan is not a good manager, but he is a good coach.”

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Rodgers was relieved of his duties as Liverpool boss after a stuttering beginning to the Premier League season. He was handed significant funds to bolster the squad in the summer after the sale of Sterling, but there were few signs the former Swansea City boss was going to turn things around, especially without their former star’s direct running and trickery in wide areas.

As Durham noted, Ward has been widely criticised for his handling of Sterling, with former Liverpool forward John Aldridge stating the agent had “tarnished his own reputation” and that of the player’s. But Ward has dismissed those suggestions out of hand, citing an incident filmed on Being: Liverpool, when Rodgers issued a stern telling off to Sterling on camera.

Here’s a reminder of the incident in question, during the club’s tour of the United States in the summer of 2012:

“I listened, and then said to Raheem: ‘Go and apologise to the manager, and get your head down and work hard’,” said Ward, claiming Sterling called him up to profess his innocence. “Brendan was so impressed that Raheem had apologised that he then put him in the first team. Do all these people think that was me giving him bad advice?”

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At the moment, you’d have to agree with Ward. Sterling has settled into life seamlessly at City, playing alongside some of the very best players in world football. In his last outing for the club he scored his first-ever senior hat-trick and has given Manuel Pellegrini’s table-toppers a penetrative edge in attack.

Of course, this is just one side of the story and there are plenty associated with Liverpool who will feel bitter at the manner in which Sterling moved on. It would have been intriguing to see one of English football’s brightest young stars work under Klopp, for sure, but at City he seems well on course to fulfilling his enormous potential.