OpinionHow Liverpool mishandled Raheem Sterling and let one of Europe’s best slip away to Manchester City too easily

In truth, he hardly ever did at Anfield. Rarely has a club mishandled such a prodigious talent. Sterling left a mere four months before Jurgen Klopp arrived on Merseyside. It is hard to believe that so few people at Liverpool thought the youngster was the team’s biggest asset.

There is no doubt Sterling could have handled his exit from Anfield better, but it is easy to see how his resentment grew. He was signed by Rafa Benitez from Queens Park Rangers’ academy nine years ago and Liverpool’s youth coaches were impressed by the way he developed. At first, he relied on pace to go past defenders, but as he moved up the age groups this became less effective. Sterling needed to develop new components to his game and, each time it looked like he might plateau, he found a new trick to confound opponents.

Kenny Dalglish planned to nurse the teenager into the side, but his sacking and the appointment of Brendan Rodgers changed things. Rodgers’ misguided power play in the 2012 summer transfer window – when the manager got rid of Andy Carroll and collapsed the deal for Daniel Sturridge – left the team short of attacking options. Sterling was forced to play more frequently than expected.

That brought up the question of money. Sterling’s wages were £30,000 per week. That is, to the fan in the stands, a huge amount of cash. The problem was that, by comparison with his teammates, the winger was underpaid. It is never greedy to want parity with your colleagues – it is a simple matter of respect. The lack of belief in Sterling was reflected in the club’s position on wages throughout his time at Liverpool. Stewart Downing, who was frequently consigned to the bench, was earning more than double.