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Having told the club he wants out of the pre-season tour and, by all reports, been told in response that wasn’t an option, Raheem Sterling appears to have escalated the conflict. He has, it would appear, called in sick from training and instead stayed home today.
While it’s always possible Sterling might genuinely have fallen ill, given the club have doctors on hand and would be monitoring the players closely as they return, it is difficult to imagine him waking up this morning and suddenly discovering on his own that he wasn’t well enough to train.
Liverpool are reportedly now sending a doctor to check on Sterling, which could seem equally petty on their part but is standard procedure for when an athlete at one of the world’s biggest clubs falls ill. If they judge Sterling is not in fact sick enough to miss training, though, punishment could be forthcoming.
When Luis Suarez pushed for a move away two summers ago, becoming an unwanted distraction, he was fined and sent to train on his own. Sterling, who appears to be flirting with breaking his contract both with talk of skipping the pre-season tour and calling in sick from training, could face similar.
For their part, Liverpool have continually made clear that they will only consider selling Sterling for £50M, and that if a club cannot or will not meet that the player will remain at Anfield for at least one more season.
