Raheem Sterling's bid to become PFA Footballer of the Year has been given a boost — by title rivals Liverpool.
The Manchester City winger, 24, is thought to be in a two-horse race for the prize along with Anfield centre half Virgil van Dijk.
Rules state that players cannot vote for candidates at their own club and traditionally that has led to tactical voting to ensure their man takes the prize.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher admitted that when he was the club's PFA representative in 2006 he asked team-mates to vote for anyone but Thierry Henry or Frank Lampard.
The Arsenal and Chelsea men were rivals to Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, who won the award.
However, a source has told Sportsmail that Sterling's former Liverpool team-mates have taken a different tack and have 'defied the unspoken whip' to vote for the City man.
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It's a gentleman's rule, not an official rule but a rule players of a club to vote on a player they think is doing his best at another club. When you're in a team you have the mentality of we're the best and we have the best players, so you would want to vote for your own teammates to go on and win it, but many clubs want their players to look at other players stats and see how much work they're putting out on the field, and Sterling has been doing the most this last stretch of the season, becoming the main man with Aguero to lead City to glory. Voting for your teammates is what any person would do, but many want to encourage others to look at other players that have done just as well, if not better.