City open talks to make England forward best-paid player in club’s history
Manchester City have opened talks with Raheem Sterling over an improved contract.
It was only 12 months ago that the England forward signed a five-year deal worth up to £300,000 a week.
But his outstanding form over the past year has brought the Premier League champions back to the negotiating table as they bid to keep the player out of the clutches of the likes of Real Madrid.
City are relaxed about the situation, but Txiki Begiristain, the club’s director of football, and Omar Berrada, the chief operating officer, are believed to have met Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, on Monday and held positive initial discussions that lasted just under an hour.
Other talks are expected to follow, with Sterling in line for a substantial pay increase that is likely to make him the highest earner in the club’s history.
Kevin De Bruyne, the Belgium midfielder, is City’s best-paid player at £350,000 a week and any new contract for Sterling would likely top that.
With City expected to lose another young, talented wide forward in Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich next summer, keeping Sterling is an integral part of the club’s longer-term plans.
Sterling has become a talismanic figure, scoring 40 goals for club and country since the contract he signed in November last year, and is now rated as one of the best attackers in Europe. Unlike the majority of his City team-mates, Sterling owns his own image rights and has lucrative endorsement deals with, among others, Pepsi, Gillette and H&M.
In April, Sterling was voted the Football Writers’ Association player of the year and has become one of the most influential voices in world football off the field through his willingness to speak out about racism.