Thursday 2 April 2015 13:05, UK
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor does not believe Raheem Sterling is being disloyal to Liverpool by putting further contract talks on hold until the summer.
Sterling has been made what Reds manager Brendan Rodgers described as "an incredible offer", believed to be £100,000 a week, but negotiations have ended in stalemate for the time being.
The 20-year-old England international insists he is not a "money grabber" and Taylor says waiting until the end of the season before resuming talks could be a wise move.
"I don't think it's meant to be a sign of disloyalty to Liverpool," he said. "Even Steven Gerrard, a Liverpool man all his career, had to think about his situation from time to time when there was a great deal of interest in him from other clubs.
'Opportunity'
"As a player with two years left on his contract he's obviously entitled to consider his options.
"It is a little bit untidy, however, when the negotiating is taking place in the full glare of the media.
"It's the nature of the game now and it is not necessarily a bad thing for both the club and the player to concentrate on football and leave things on the contract until the end of the season.
"They will want to focus on the run-in, the race for the top four and the Champions League places, and the FA Cup as well, and sometimes contract negotiations are the last thing you want to be worrying about."
Taylor added that he was confident Sterling was aware of what he owed to Liverpool and Rodgers.
He said: "Raheem has got to feel very close to Liverpool and he will be aware that they have looked after him, that the manager Brendan Rodgers has put his faith in him and given him his opportunity."
