Michael Owen has warned Raheem Sterling that life after Liverpool may not be all he hopes it to be after the England youngster revealed this week that he had rejected a £100,000-a-week deal at Anfield . Owen , like Sterling , started his senior career at Liverpool but eventually moved on to Real Madrid in 2004 . But he says the 20-year-old is not good enough to make the same move to the Spanish capital . Chelsea , Arsenal and Manchester City are all said to be interested in the hottest property in English football , but Liverpool are determined not to let one of their star players leave , even with his contract expiring at the end of next season . Michael Owen has warned Raheem Sterling that leaving Liverpool may not be all he hopes it would be . Owen , like Sterling , started his senior career at Liverpool but eventually moved on to Real Madrid . Owen feels that Sterling is in a great place to develop , having done the same during his time at Anfield . Owen feels that Sterling is in a great place to develop , but argues that it does n't mean the youngster owes the club anything . 'There is no question he ( Sterling ) has been at the perfect place to learn his trade and he has been managed fantastically well so far , ' Owen said . 'But that should n't mean he should be indebted to the extent of feeling he owes everything to the club . If the club created top players from nothing then everyone would make it . ' A club is quick to get rid of a player when they do n't serve a purpose anymore so why should a player not do what 's best for him when the boot is on the other foot ? ' Owen scored 158 goals during his time at Liverpool , spending eight seasons on Merseyside until 2004 . Owen bursts away from Bruno Ngotty of Bolton Wanderers before he left Liverpool for Real Madrid . Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid in a £16.8million move in 2004 before later moving on to Newcastle United . Sterling is expected to start for Liverpool in Saturday 's lunchtime kick-off against Arsenal after Brendan Rodgers stated his intention to keep hold of the winger . And Owen says that the lack of a place in Real or Barcelona 's teams mean that the only move he could make away from Anfield would be a sideways one . Sterling spoke in an interview with the BBC this week about his career ambitions and turning down the deal . The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and co leave Owen unconvinced that a move to Spain would be right . 'Having watched him closely throughout his professional career , it it is fair to say that his progress has been spectacular , ' he wrote on sportlobster . But he is still a notch or two off being `` world class '' . ' I do n't see what realistic options he has got if a move away from Anfield was on his mind . He would n't get into Real Madrid 's or Barcelona 's teams and any other move surely has to be seen as a move sidewards ? '
Raheem Sterling has stalled over signing a new contract with Liverpool . Michael Owen says any viable move for winger would be a sideways one . Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid in a £16.8million move in 2004 . He says Sterling does not owe his career to the Anfield club .