Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers blames Raheem Sterling's agent for contract controversy

Brendan Rodgers doesn't want the finger being pointed at Raheem Sterling.

A dark cloud hangs over Anfield regarding Sterling's future at Liverpool, as contract talks were cancelled this week when the player's agent, Aidy Ward, denied that his client would sign a new deal, insisting that even a £900,000-a-week contract wouldn't be enough for him to stay at the Merseyside club.

Two years remain on Sterling's current deal, which pays him £35,000-a-week, and he admitted in a recent interview with the BBC that he had turned down a new five-year contract from Liverpool that would have seen him earn £100,000 per week.

Supporters appear to have lost their patience with Sterling over the matter, but Rodgers issued a stern defense of the 20-year-old player on Saturday, insinuating that the blame should land squarely on the shoulders of Ward.

"My message to the supporters would be: 'Look, this is a young boy who in my time as manager has given the football club everything," Rodgers said, according to the Guardian.

"He was thrust into the team at 17 years of age. In the following period he has been exceptional for me. He has had dips in form and performances but only because his standards are so high. He's a young man who has obviously passed on his career to other people and, unfortunately, whether people perceive it as right or wrong, he is being led by the representative.

"But the young boy I see on a daily basis and who I work with is still the same boy who wants to learn and I think the supporters will just continue to show what they always do, which is wonderful support for every player in the Liverpool shirt."

Sterling holds seven goals and seven assists to his name this Premier League season, while ranking sixth in the league in dribbles per game (2.9) and second in fouled per game (2.7).