Players' chief Gordon Taylor insists Raheem Sterling is not being disloyal to Liverpool by putting any further talks about a new contract on hold until the summer.
The 20-year-old England player has been made what manager Brendan Rodgers described as "an incredible offer'", believed to be £100,000-a-week, but negotiations have ended in stalemate.
Sterling has insisted he is not a "money grabber" and Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, believes waiting until the season is over before resuming talks could be a wise move.
Taylor told Press Association Sport: "I don't think it's meant to be a sign of disloyalty to Liverpool.
"Even Steven Gerrard, a Liverpool man all his career, had to think about his situation from time to time when there was a great deal of interest in him from other clubs.
"As a player with two years left on his contract he's obviously entitled to consider his options.
"It is a little bit untidy however when the negotiating is taking place in the full glare of the media.
"It's the nature of the game now and it is not necessarily a bad thing for both the club and the player to concentrate on football and leave things on the contract until the end of the season.
"They will want to focus on the run-in, the race for the top four and the Champions League places, and the FA Cup as well, and sometimes contract negotiations are the last thing you want to be worrying about."
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Taylor added that he was confident Sterling was aware of what he owed to Liverpool and Rodgers.
He said: "Raheem has got to feel very close to Liverpool and he will be aware that they have looked after him, that the manager Brendan Rodgers has put his faith in him and given him his opportunity."
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