Raheem Sterling once had a heated exchange with Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers in training
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Brendan Rodgers manager of Liverpool talks with Raheem Sterling during a training session at Melwood Training Ground
Raheem Sterling and Brendan Rodgers weren’t always on the same wavelength at Liverpool - and fractures in their working manager-player relationship were there for all to see a number of years before the forward left for Manchester City in a £49m deal.
Perhaps training ground confrontations between two figures at any given football club are to be expected; they’re part and parcel of football. Words are exchanged and tensions momentarily rise, but the situation is eventually resolved and all parties move on.
Only this heated exchange in particular has never been able to be forgotten.
Having made his Liverpool debut the previous season, Sterling was one of a number of young academy players who were included in Rodgers ' travelling squad to America for pre-season due to a number of his senior stars taking part in EURO 2012.
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This was the Northern Irishman’s first pre-season in charge of the club, having left Swansea City to replace Kenny Dalglish in charge at Anfield, and there was an intention on Rodgers’ part to assert his authority early into his tenure.
Unfortunately for the duo, the bust-up was caught on camera thanks to the FOX documentary Being:Liverpool.
The now Leicester boss had been telling Sterling to both ‘use your brain’ and ‘stay on your feet’, before threatening to send him home after taking issue with his response.
“This is for the young players and I need you to pay attention," Rodgers said. “Your attitude needs to improve in your work, OK? You (Sterling) say ‘steady’ to me again when I say something to you and you’ll be on the first plane back.”
Brendan Rodgers and Raheem Sterling during their time at Liverpool.
Brendan Rodgers and Raheem Sterling during their time at Liverpool.
(Image: (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images))
Sterling then responded by saying: “I didn’t say steady, I said….” With Rodgers adding: “You know what you said, I know what you said.”
Former Liverpool defender Ryan McLaughlin was also part of the travelling squad over in the States and he has now revealed the truth behind the infamous row.
“That was Brendan stamping his authority," he told The Athletic last year. "He didn’t want any young players getting too big for their boots.
“He didn’t want us having fancy cars or designer washbags. He would always tell us: ‘Just because you’re training with Liverpool, it doesn’t mean you play for Liverpool’.
“Raheem was already a big name and everyone knew he was destined for great things. Brendan thought Raheem answered him back and didn’t want to be seen as a pushover.
“I don’t think he needed to do that to get our respect as he had it already."
McLaughlin continued: “It maybe gave some people the wrong impression about Raheem because he’s such a nice fella, so down to earth.
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“Raheem was adamant he had said ‘he stepped on my toe’ after feeling like he should have had a free-kick, but Brendan heard it as him saying ‘steady’.
“If you got the better of a senior player in those sessions they would look to put you in your place. Raheem used to get kicked a lot because he was so quick. It was only when training stopped that day that we realised there was an issue.”
This article was originally published in April 2020.