Thursday 21 September 2017 19:56, UK
Former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he tried to keep Raheem Sterling on a low wage at Anfield for as long as possible.
And Rodgers, who is now in charge at Celtic, says he thinks the huge amounts of money young players often earn "distorts reality" and can have a negative effect.
Rodgers guided Sterling as the youngster rose through the ranks at Anfield and became an England international, and the manager says the forward's progress was so swift that a wage rise became inevitable.
"There is one common denominator when it comes to young players falling by the wayside - money," Rodgers told the Daily Express.
"It distorts reality, it changes people. I'm always cautious of that.
"I had Raheem Sterling playing for England and a regular in the Liverpool first team on £2000 per week.
"I couldn't do it any longer than about the November time because he was absolutely brilliant, so we had to get him on a different contract.
"But I stretched it out as long as I could."
And Rodgers feels a patient approach is wise when it comes to contracts for up-and-coming professionals.
He added: "With young players, one, they have to earn it and, two, you don't go overboard with them because they have played a couple of good games.
"Stay calm. See how consistent and professional they are, and if they are doing well they will always get rewarded.
"Let them get some games in their legs and go from there."
