Raheem Sterling insists contract criticism 'goes in one ear and out the other' as Liverpool forward vows to improve

• Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling rejected a £90,000-a-week contract 
• The England international has been criticised by his own supporters 
• But Sterling insists he pays no attention and is fully focused on his football

By Sami Mokbel for MailOnline

Published: 17:15 EST, 23 April 2015 | Updated: 18:39 EST, 23 April 2015

Raheem Sterling insists he has not been affected by the criticism of his ongoing contract stand-off with Liverpool.

The England international has been abused, even by his own fans, over his decision to put deal talks on hold after rejecting an offer worth £90,000-per-week.

Sterling was even heckled at the club's recent kit launch, but the 20-year-old, speaking for the first time since his now infamous BBC interview, insists he is immune to the negative comments.

Raheem Sterling says he pays no attention to criticism levelled at him for contract stand-off with Liverpool

Sterling (left) tussles for possession with Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson during training on Thursday

In an interview with BT Sport, Sterling said: 'Everyone has their opinion on me at this moment in time but I’m just a kid who loves to play football and to try and improve every day and be the best I can be.

'It just goes in one ear and goes out the other. I don’t read anything, don’t look at anything and, for me, it’s all football. I’m genuinely focused on doing my best for this football club.'

Sterling is one of Europe's most sought after young players. Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all have a genuine interest.

Real Madrdid supremo Zinedine Zidane admitted the Spanish giants were keeping tabs on the youngster, while Bayern Munich and Juventus are monitoring his contract situation.

West Brom vs Liverpool: Facts, stats and betting odds

Sterling is wanted by all the Premier League's top clubs, as well as Real Madrid and Juventus

Nevertheless, Sterling, who has scored 11 goals this season, admits there's still much more to come from him.

Sterling added: 'I set targets for myself at the start of the season and I’m probably a few goals behind where I wanted to be.

'I’m just taking it in my stride and hopefully in these last few games, the run-in until the end of the season, I can kick on again. I’m still learning and developing so only time will tell.

'I’m my own biggest critic. I don’t need anyone to tell me when I’ve played badly. I know when I’ve done bad, I’m always looking where I could have done better or scored an extra goal.

Sterling (left) is challenged by Ron Vlaar during Liverpool's defeat by Aston Villa at Wembley last Sunday

'This is the world that we live in. You look at the players like Ronaldo and these players are critical on themselves. These are the people that you need to idolise and look up to.

'It’s fallen really nicely for me to play at the highest level. From when I signed at Liverpool as a 14 or 15-year-old boy, it was my dream to be at Anfield and I was not going anywhere until I’d done that.

'Last season was a great season for everyone at this football club. Obviously we didn’t start the season as well as we would have liked, we’ve definitely shown qualities and the manager has shown us stats from the start of the year and we’ve probably been one of the better teams in the league.'

Raheem Sterling heckled as Liverpool reveal 2015/16 kit

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