Raheem Sterling puts new Liverpool contract talks on hold

Raheem Sterling has reportedly put talks over a bumper new contract on hold, citing his desire to focus on his football.

Liverpool have been negotiating a new contract for England star Raheem Sterling dating back to October. In those five months, the club have pushed patience.

At the end of January, manager Brendan Rodgers insisted that Sterling would be signing a new deal at Anfield "very imminently." Since then, reports have indicated that the club and the England international had closed the gap on a new £100,000-a-week deal.

Now, according to the Daily Mail, Sterling has put talks on hold until the summer. The British publication reports that the Liverpool attacker is focused on his football, rather than his bumper payday.

Real Madrid have long been linked with Sterling, and the Mail report that Bayern Munich are also monitoring the situation. With his contract set to expire in 2017, Liverpool may be running out of time to seal a deal before they risk losing their budding star for next to nothing.