The England international's current deal expires at the end of next season, with manager Brendan Rodgers recently confirming that negotiations were to be shelved until the end of the current campaign. While Rodgers maintains this is to allow Sterling to focus on his football, the 20-year-old's perceived refusal to put pen to paper has attracted criticism from certain quarters. Sterling has previously spoken of his desire to stay at the club, where he has shot to prominence since making his debut in 2012. And he told BBC Sport on Wednesday: "I don't want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old. "I just Women FC247 Elastico Finale III want to be seen as the kid that loves to play football." Sterling also revealed that had he been offered a deal at this time last year, he would have been happy to sign. "If, at that point in time, I was offered a contract, I most definitely would have signed straight away, probably for far less money than being said now," he said. "I just think the timing was a bit off. "I try to kill it [speculation about his future] off, but I don't think the public can see it that way," he added. "I think they just see it as this 20-year-old boy being greedy. "I just want to take Nike Women Mercurial Superfly the time to think about what I've Women Mercurial Victory V achieved in my career so far, where I need to go and what I need to do to get better as a player. "I try to Womens Mercurial CR7 just block everything out and do well. "Next game is against Arsenal and I want to do my best. I won't be hiding. As I said, I'm just happy to be playing football."