Mascherano pressured Liverpool to let Barça go

Javier Mascherano has revealed in an interview with the magazine Four four two that his arrival at Barça in the summer of 2010 was possible in only one way: refused to play a Premier League match against Manchester City when he was a Liverpool player, in order to put pressure on a board that was not willing to sell you after assuring you otherwise. “I had a meeting with the technical director at the time, Christian Purslow, who told me that I could go if a good offer came along. Then there was a proposal on the table, but Liverpool looked the other way“, confesses the former Argentine defense.

Liverpool did not fulfill their promise and Mascherano decided to take action on the matter; declared in absentia in the face of the party that reds they had to play against City. A decision that Mascherano is not very proud of, but admits he did it out of necessity: “On the one hand, Liverpool fans weren't happy with me at all and I understand why. On the other hand, the board at that time had promised me something and did not keep their word “, declares the former West Ham, among other teams.

Likewise, Mascherano explains that pressuring Liverpool was the only way to unravel the situation: “I was quite angry that they did not keep their word. Refusing to play against City was the only way to show my discomfort. I told the club that I wanted to leave for family reasons. I did not like the way I acted, but there was no other option because otherwise Liverpool would never have kept their promise. “

Finally, Mascherano headed to Barcelona in 2010. Pep Guardiola recruited him into his ranks to occupy the position of defensive midfielder, however, the circumstances of the campaign (Carles Puyol was limping in the middle of the season) made the coach bet on the Argentine definitively as a central defender. Mascherano formed tandém with Gerard Piqué and it was not bad for him in his first season as a Barça player, as he conquered the League and the Champions League. In 2018, he said goodbye to Barça after playing 334 games and lifting 19 titles.