Javier Mascherano told details of his departure from Liverpool and surprised everyone

Javier Mascherano has revealed in an interview with Four Four Two magazine that his arrival at Barça in the summer of 2010 was possible in only one way: he refused to play a Premier League match against Manchester City when he was a Liverpool player, to thus pressuring a management that was not willing to sell him after assuring him otherwise.

"I had a meeting with the technical director at that time, Christian Purslow, who told me that I could leave if a good offer came. Then there was a proposal on the table, but Liverpool looked to other way", confesses the former Argentine defender. It was like this, how Liverpool did not fulfill their promise, and Mascherano decided to take action on the matter. He declared himself in absentia in the face of the game that the Reds had to play against City.

A decision that the Argentine player is not very proud of, but admits that he did it out of necessity: "On the first hand, the Liverpool fans were not happy with me at all, and I understand why. On the other side, the board at that time had me promised something and did not keep his word", says the former West Ham, among other teams.

Likewise, Mascherano explains that putting pressure on Liverpool was the only way to defuse 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. I was leaving for family reasons. I didn't like the way I acted, but there was no other option because otherwise Liverpool would never have kept their promise", assured.

Mascherano's arrival in Barcelona, where he was crowned champion of absolutely everything

Finally, Mascherano headed to Barcelona in 2010. Pep Guardiola recruited him into their 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 by the Argentine definitely as a central defender. Mascherano play with Gerard Piqué at the defense, 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.