Raheem Sterling is entitled to drive a hard bargain if he believes he's worth a big pay-rise. And if he wants to leave Liverpool, good luck to him
But nobody is bigger than a club that's won five European Cups and 18 domestic league titles.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has tried to look after youngster Sterling this season, allowing him to go on a mid-season break to Jamaica and resting him when he's looked tired.
To be honest, Sterling has not been great in the second half of the season, and I think it's now reached the stage where it might be best for all parties if Liverpool got rid of him.
If they can get £40million for a player they picked up out of QPR's youth team for buttons, that's a tidy profit. And if Sterling can find a top club willing to meet his wage demands, good for him.
It's called market forces.
But I don't like the confrontational language his agent has reportedly been using lately.
Liverpool and Sterling have to be careful the whole saga does not unravel into a summer-long soap opera which drags the club down.
I repeat what I said in this column in March this year: Would Sterling command a place in the starting XI at the biggest clubs in Europe?
I'm not sure he's an automatic starter at Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Barcelona.
Maybe he would be a good fit for Manchester City - they can certainly afford to pay him top dollar - but wherever he kicks off next season, one golden rule remains the same for Sterling.
If he doesn't produce the goods, he will find himself on the bench. And it would be a shame to see his talent wither on the vine.
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