Liverpool Transfer News: Raheem Sterling's Agent, Aidy Ward, Aims Fresh Reds Dig

Aidy Ward, agent to former Liverpool player Raheem Sterling, has once again flung several barbs in the direction of the Reds by claiming his client is much better off at Manchester City as he is "is playing with better players."

According to the Mirror's Simon Mullock, he said: "Raheem is in a good place. He is playing with better players for a manager, who gives him the freedom to express himself, and he is improving as a player in a team that is at the top of the Premier League and in the Champions League. He has gone up a tier."

City play Liverpool on Saturday when the Premier League returns after the international break.

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

Ward's comments will do little to repair Sterling's fractured relationship with Liverpool supporters following his exit from the club in the summer—one that left a sour taste in their mouths despite the club pocketing £49 million for his sale, according to Mullock.

Ward further believes the 20-year-old has much more room to develop at the Etihad Stadium than he ever did at Anfield as he no longer restricted by the demands placed on him by then-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers—rather he now enjoys an unprecedented amount of creative freedom:

"

Manuel Pellegrini has played him in a wide role with the freedom to drift inside and he has also played as a central striker.

[...]

At Liverpool, Raheem was asked to play as a full-back, just like Emre Can was asked to play as a central defender when he is a midfielder. That wasn’t going to help him develop as a player.

Moving to City was right for Raheem, even if Liverpool fans don’t want to accept that. At City, he now has a licence to thrill.

"

Sterling was in fact often played up front by Rodgers due to Liverpool's dearth of talent in that area last season—a position that routinely exposed his historically poor finishing.

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Mullock notes the England international is working hard to improve this deficiency in his game, though, and has so far been rewarded with six goals to his name this season in all competitions.

Should the winger find the net against his former club on Saturday, Ward is unsure whether he will celebrate:

"

I don’t know what Raheem will do if he scores. If I was him, I’d celebrate like I would if I had scored against any other team. Perhaps he will.

But that will be because he is happy to have scored for Man City. It will have nothing to do with that fact that it’s against ­Liverpool. Despite all the rubbish he’s had to deal with, Raheem isn’t a vindictive character.

"

Refusing to celebrate isn't likely to lessen the blow for Liverpool fans if their former star scores against them. Indeed, many football fans and pundits abhor instances where players refuse to revel in having scored a goal against a former side.

All that said, Ward's comments are hardly the most outrageous he's made in recent times.

City are and have for some time been demonstrably better than the Reds, establishing themselves as routine title contenders and Champions League regulars while Liverpool have frequently failed to reach even the top four.

Further, playing alongside a calibre of players such as Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Vincent Kompany is a privilege Liverpool are currently unable to offer.

Most English players to sign for City in recent years have struggled to nail down a starting berth and have become anonymous figures rotting on the bench, but thus far, Sterling seems to have bucked the trend and established himself as an important figure for the Sky Blues.

Nikolai Alexandrov/Associated Press

How he would have continued to develop had he remained at Liverpool is difficult to estimate. He could perhaps have stagnated somewhat under the struggling Rodgers, but with Jurgen Klopp now in charge, he might equally have thrived as so many youngsters have under his care in the past.

Nevertheless, Liverpool's away support will no doubt provide a hostile reception for the winger at the Etihad, and Ward's comments will only have brought the bitter memories of Sterling's protracted transfer saga back to the surface.