Liverpool man Javier Mascherano is on the move and no one truly knows what destination the defensive midfielder will end up at. The two most likely places are with Barcelona or Inter Milan who has reportedly re-entered the race for the disgruntled Argentine star in the last week.
And Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola has his sights set on the young defensive minded player and even suggested earlier this week that the acquisition of Mascherano would leave the young coach “satisfied” with his current roster moving forward this season:
I will speak about him when he’s here – if he comes. If a defensive midfielder arrives, the needs of the team will be resolved. If one arrives, I will be satisfied.
And right now the biggest debate is over how much money the Camp Nou team will have to provide his current, but soon to be former side with. Apparently Barca has already offered somewhere around the range of $12 to $16 million for the transfer deal, but was turned away by the EPL squad. And considering the fact that Mascherano is currently holding out and refusing to play for the squad, Barcelona might be low-balling the English club in hopes that they will get a better transfer deal then the player’s true worth due to his refusal to play for the Reds.
But with Inter re-entering the picture the time to find a valuable replacement for Yaya Toure is now for last year’s La Liga title winners and waiting around could prove to be a costly decision. Barcelona star Lionel Messi, and Mascherano’s national team teammate, shared his own insight into the transfer situation:
Javier won’t play for the club again, I can assure you of that, and I think the Liverpool coach knows that now. Javier’s family are unhappy and the pressure of seeing that is making him depressed. Liverpool must act humanely and let him go.
Mascherano will most likely be sold in the last week, but to refer to the English club’s actions as “inhuman” is a bit of a stretch. Liverpool is merely trying to seek an accurate amount for the defensive star and is fully aware of the player’s value at the moment with Barcelona needing that exact position. If anyone has performed an insincere act then it is obviously Mascherano for holding out and refusing to oblige to a contract that was already agreed upon in previous negotiations.
Much like Cesc Fabregas’ situation with Arsenal, there is nothing wrong with desiring to keep a star player from leaving your side and joining the most dominant team in the world especially if the proper offer has yet to be presented. If anything holding onto the player and forcing him to sit out half of the season due to his own stubborn behavior is an admirable decision in my opinion and one that doesn’t deserved to be challenged by anyone.
But then again I’m not the best footballer in the world like Messi is.
