Arsene Wenger believes Raheem Sterling is not at fault for failed Liverpool talks

Arsene Wenger insists Raheem Sterling is not necessarily to blame for difficult contract talks with Liverpool.

Liverpool cancelled contract talks with Sterling scheduled for Friday and the 20-year-old was booed at the club's award ceremony on Tuesday.

Wenger believes it is better for clubs to conduct their business behind closed doors and said this is when the most effective transfers are done.

Wenger accepts players are heavily linked to their agents as they come as a package so it is important to acknowledge a story may come from an agent.

"I don’t want to single out people but discretion is the best way to deal with things," said Wenger. "For us, it adds difficulties when it is public.

"I am not sure it is the player causing the problem. They [a player and agent] come as a package that is true, but the problems do not always come from the player, sometimes from the package.

"You know how it works. The agent's interest is to put a story in public. Always the best deals we have done is when it was quiet and secret."

petikan dari LiverpoolTeamTalk