Raheem Sterling should be sold by Liverpool this summer, the club's former director of football Damien Comolli has told .
that Sterling, 20, is to tell Liverpool he wants to leave the club in the summer, having reached an impasse of his contract negotiations.
The England international's current terms do not expire until 2017, but should Liverpool decide to cash in on his talent then they risk losing him for a lower fee as he nears the end of his deal.
And Comolli, who left Liverpool as their director of football in 2012, feels it would be sensible for Brendan Rodgers' Reds to part company with the unsettled winger.
"If he refuses to extend his contract and they don't sell him this summer, there is a major risk he will leave on a free transfer [in 2017]," Comolli said.
"I don't think any club, no matter what the magnitude is, can afford that risk at the moment.
"I would probably have another go and spend hours trying to convince him to stay, but at the end of the day, I would recommend to the board he should be sold."
Former Reds winger John Barnes, though, believes Sterling "not achieved anything" and that he should remain at Anfield.
"Raheem has great potential, but Liverpool gave him an opportunity and he should stay," .
"Does anyone believe that if he goes to Manchester City he will be the first name on the teamsheet or are they just signing him because they need English players?"
On Tuesday night, when collecting his award for Liverpool's Young Player of the Year amid uncertainty over his future.
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