Brendan Rodgers: It was not about the money for Raheem Sterling

The tactician also revealed that he feels Pep Guardiola's team is not the same when the Englishman is not in the squad.

Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has asserted that Raheem Sterling didn’t leave Liverpool and join Manchester City solely because of the extravagant monetary gains at the Manchester side.

Sterling left the Reds to join City in 2015 for a big £49 million fee, but has since helped them win back-to-back Premier League titles and gone onto being recognized as one of the best wingers in the Premier League.

But Brendan Rodgers believes that Raheem Sterling didn’t do it for the money and instead to develop into a world-class player. He states that the England International joined a side where he sought the opportunity to do big things and also work with world-class players for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Leicester City boss told Liverpool Echo, “For Raheem, it was never about money. If it was about money, he could have stayed at Liverpool. It was about being the best he can be.

“In that moment in time, there was an opportunity to go to where they had top-class players. He's gone in there and developed and become a winner, which is clear to see now in his game.”

Brendan Rodgers also asserts that Raheem Sterling adds that something special to Pep Guardiola’s side and hailed the young winger’s show of ambition right from such a young age.

He explained, “I look at Pep's team and it's not the same if he's not in it. What a testament that is to a young English player. What I loved about Raheem was that, for a young boy, he knew what he wanted to be."

Sterling has gone onto win six trophies with City in his five-year stay and developed into one of the best wingers in the league with Pep always there to guide him. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season and was named the 9th best player in the world by the FIFA FIFPRO World XI nominee.

The 25-year-old has had a pretty good individual season with City, even though they haven’t been able to mount much of a Premier League title challenge to Liverpool this season. Sterling’s scored 20 goals in all competitions this season and continues to grow into a menacing winger under this system.