Blackburn Rovers midfielder Tom Cairney has heaped praise on Liverpool young gun Raheem Sterling.
Ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final replay with Liverpool on Wednesday, Cairney has supported Sterling's decision to turn down a reported £100,000-a-week contract and believes that the Reds winger is among the top three young footballers in the world.
"To be fair if they offered me it I'd turn it down!," joked Cairney, 24, who is believed to be on less than £10,000-a-week with Rovers.
"It's a different level. He might be thinking the top dog at Liverpool is on a lot more and he feels he's doing a job just as well.
"He's 20 years-old. Potentially he can only get better, so for his part he maybe feels he deserves more.
"I know it sounds stupid, more than 100 grand a week, but that's the world we live in and that's football. It's up to him. If he stays at Liverpool he will be one of the top players for the next eight years.
"To turn down 100 grand a week in our world is crazy but he's in the what, top three 20-year-olds in the world? The world is at his feet and to do that he believes a lot in his ability and obviously believes he deserves more.
"There will a lot of top teams sniffing around if he doesn't sign a new contract."
Liverpool will travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-final replay for the chance to meet Aston Villa in the semi-final at Wembley on April 19.