Raheem Sterling on strike: Leaked phone number of Liverpool star leads to nasty abuse from fans

Sterling has told Liverpool he does not want to go on their pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia, according to reports, and his stance has been met with a ferocious backlash from fans on social media.

The England winger wants to force a move to Manchester City and reportedly told manager Brendan Rodgers after returning to training on Monday that he does not want to be included on the tour which departs on Sunday.

[Sterling's Liverpool relationship 'utterly breaks down']

But the abuse from supporters has seemingly not been confined to social media alone after the 20-year-old had his phone number published online on Tuesday evening.

According to various reports, Sterling was bombarded with abusive calls and woke up to hundreds of insulting WhatsApp and text messages.

Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror reported that Sterling "took screenshots as he considers his next move".

Lewis quoted a Twitter user who apparently posted what he claimed was Sterling’s number online and urged fans to “give this #Raheem #Sterling a phone call with as much abuse as possible!!”

According to the Mirror, Twitter has promised to act upon the abuse given to Sterling and to shut down the accounts of those responsible.

[Sterling misses Liverpool training after calling in sick]

It's very sad indeed when transfer sagas turn ugly and there is never an excuse for the abuse of players over contractual matters. Sterling has infuriated Liverpool and the club's fans with his behaviour throughout this protracted fall-out and his agent has come in for a lot of criticism too. But he is a young man seeking to progress his career and move on, something which should not see him targeted for abuse.