Mascherano

Now it is rumoured that Benitez is going to make Mascherano his first signing at Inter.

The fact that Mascherano has said publicly that he is learning Italian might be considered a subtle hint as to where the player sees his future.

Now, if I was being cynical about Benitez and why should I be? Some people could read into the fact that Mascherano didn't sign a new contract with Liverpool because he knew Benitez was leaving and that he would be joining him at his new club. Well in advance and in total contradiction to the public statements of loyalty made by Benitez and Mascherano for the benefit of those fans naieve enough to still believe them.

His transfer value would be significantly less as he only has one year left on his contract. £30,000,0000 is the fee being mentioned. We will see if during the negotiations the fact he has only one year left and could leave for nothing then, will end up with us receiving far less. I for one would not be at all surprised if that is how it turns out.

But that would be really cynical wouldn't it?

Well, well ,well. What a surprise so Benitez who valued Mascherano at £35 Million when Barca wanted him last season now doesn't think he is worth £30 M.

We should sell him to anyone other than Inter in my opinion, unless they get real and pay his value. I wonderr if we will hear Benitez bleating to the Inter fans od his lack of support by the Inter owners if they don't agree to pay our price? No doubt we will see the player showing his displeasure if he doesn't get to walk way from his legal contract with us at some cut price sum.

JAVIER MASCHERANO could remain at Liverpool next season after Inter Milan baulked at the club’s asking price for the midfielder.

New Inter boss Rafa Benitez is keen to be reunited with Mascherano at the San Siro and the Argentina captain has indicated he would be tempted by a switch to Italy.

However, the Reds have no desire to sell and if they reluctantly agree to do business they will look to secure the maximum return for the 26-year-old, who is regarded as the best holding midfielder in the world.

Mascherano, who has two years remaining on his current deal, is valued at around £30million but Inter president Massimo Moratti says unless they drop their asking price the Nerazzurri will have to look elsewhere.

Another target on Benitez’ hitlist is Juventus’ Brazilian midfielder Melo who would be a cheaper option.

Morratti said: “Mascherano is a strong player, but it is unlikely that he will come.

“He costs too much and it’s not even a given that Liverpool will sell him. Melo is an intriguing idea and one that we are working on.”

The former West Ham star, who had his hopes of moving to Barcelona last summer dashed by Liverpool’s refusal to sell him, was on the verge of signing a new deal with the Reds back in April.

However, talks stalled prior to the World Cup and his agent Marco Piccioli recently revealed there had been initial discussions with Inter about his availability.

“It is no mystery that he is a player liked by Inter and by Benitez,” he said.

“There is nothing concrete at the moment, but we are in the talking phase.”

Mascherano, who will line up for Argentina against Mexico in the second round of the World Cup tomorrow night, has revealed he’s learning to speak Italian during his time in South Africa.

Liverpool paid £18.6m to sign Mascherano in January 2008 after he had spent a successful year at the club on loan.

The Reds insist no transfer deals will be completed prior to the appointment of Benitez’s successor at Anfield.

Speculation is growing that Roy Hodgson will land the job but the Reds remain tight-lipped about the process which is being led by managing director Christian Purslow and no announcement is imminent.

By Joe Bernstein


Liverpool plan to take revenge on Rafa Benitez by selling Argentina captain Javier Mascherano to Barcelona instead of Inter Milan, their former boss’s new club.

On the day Liverpool were linked with French World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps to fill the managerial vacancy for which Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is still favourite, Barcelona emerged as the club most likely to sign Mascherano for £25million.

The Spanish champions will fund the deal by selling Yaya Toure to Manchester City for £25m.

The news will be received badly by Benitez, who signed Mascherano for Liverpool in 2008. He wanted the player at the San Siro but will instead pay for falling out with the Liverpool hierarchy before he left for Italy.

Mascherano, who has wanted to move for 12 months, refused to sign a new contract and continued off-field unrest will not persuade him to change his mind.

Liverpool’s pursuit of Hodgson has not been finalised and defeat for England today may mean the Fulham boss might prefer to become a candidate to succeed Fabio Capello should the Italian move on.

Come and get me: Mascherano is keen on working with Benitez again at Inter


Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow sounded out Marseille to find out if they would allow boss Deschamps to speak about a possible move.

The French club’s president, Jean-Claude Dassier, revealed: ‘I kindly indicated to him there wasn’t the slightest chance to pinch our coach. Even in his dreams.

'We have a trusting relationship with Didier. I’m not worried but it’s also true he is flattered to see a great European club interested in him.’

Uncertainty at Liverpool has increased, with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett in talks to sell the club to an unnamed party from the Middle East.

The asking price has dropped to about £560m from an original valuation of £800m and the new owners are likely to target Guus Hiddink if the manager’s post has not been filled.

Apparently Mascherano has had a meeting with his agent and Roy Hodgson where he outlined he would like to leave.

Well Roy get as much as you can for him is all I would say, didn't even give you chance.

Trevor Pratt (Liverpool fan) says...
Nice to see he gave Roy a chance !!, Like the other guys have said ,from West Ham Reserves to Argentina Captain Via the best league club in the world. Nothing like a bit of loyalty when the chips are down eh Masch ?? If he Don''t want to wear the famous red shirt then let him go.

Posted 08:33 27th July 2010

.Gary Steer (Liverpool fan) says...
Benitez said last year that Mascherano was priceless to Liverpool when Barcelona were in for him. I''d hold out for 35 - 40 million for him. Benitez wants him and they have the money. Liverpool hold a great set of cards in this situation. Gary in Manchester

Posted 08:32 27th July 2010

.Gavin Bull says...
Good riddance as far as I''m concerned! He''s nothing more than a mercenary. Any player who wants to jump ship at the first sign of trouble is not welcome at LFC. Especially when LFC gave Mascha a huge break after the WHU debacle! Liverpool FC are in a state of change, and only players that WANT to play for LFC are welcome. And that includes Torres! If he is seriously angling a move to the Chelsea after LFC turned him into a global superstar, then he''s also nothing more than a mercenary and we need to cash in ... and replace! Simple as that! ONLY players that want to play for LFC are wanted, the rest are free to get lost!

Posted 08:32 27th July 2010

.Gavin Fisher (Liverpool fan) says...
Never liked him as a player, thought he let Liverpool down to many times in big matches, to tempermental, sell him and use the funds to buy players who want to play for Liverpool.

Posted 08:30 27th July 2010

.Andy Dyson (Liverpool fan) says...
We are talking about a player, who cant pass, does not score, rarely sets up goals/attacks and basically runs around grinding his teeth and kicking people. Anyone who thinks that this type of player wins a team trophies is wrong, of course a team needs a player to break up the play of the opponents like Alonso did, like Hamman did and many more players before them, they could do this by reading the game and they also had the ability to be creative. We lost so many games last season it was hard to count them, and like Argentina when they were a goal down against Germany they needed as we do when we are getting beat - you need a player to stay calm and be creative and try and help get the team back in the game. I have never rated him but unfortunately most of our fans adore him or they did until his antics over the last few weeks not returning the managers calls etc,, please please sell him, every player should give 100% but whether you have the ability to play is a different matter and his has none. No doubt he will move again next year or the year after with his agent telling everyone how good he is and how everybody wants to buy him.

Posted 08:28 27th July 2010

.Kevin Allan (Liverpool fan) says...
Just to echo the other comments really. If he wants to leave then let him...He was awful just after the Barcelona fiasco when that was supposedly a dream move for him too..He obviously has no loyalty and I for one do not want anyone at the club who does not want to be there. £25mil could be invested in a couple of decent players who actually want to pleay for the shirt.

Posted 08:25 27th July 2010

.Kurtis Ilsley (Liverpool fan) says...
25-30 million sounds good to me, no loyalty at all after what LFC have done for him, good player but gave away to many fouls and booked to often not to mention his temerment, invest in a decent LB, Bridge ??? english and at a cut price, also a decent striker as we have only 2 in Torres and Ngog.

Posted 08:25 27th July 2010

Hodgson also confirmed Javier Mascherano has asked to leave the club but he insisted the Argentinian skipper would only leave if and when the club decided he could.

Said Hodgson, "He wants to leave the club, he's made that perfectly clear.

"He wanted to leave a year ago and he wants to leave now as well but he's contracted to Liverpool Football Club so whether he leaves or not will be our decision."

It is being reported that Mascherano will go to Barcelona for £12 Million plus Hleb in exchange.

I would be very surprised if this came about as we need cash not another foreign player who doesn't meet the homegrown rule especially after signing Polusen.
Also we currently have midfielders in excess and certainly don't need another.

We need striker and a left back and to get those we need cash. The City deal for Balottelli seems to be fianlly going through and this would provide Inter with the cash to get their man.

By Rory Smith
Published: 7:00AM BST 19 Aug 2010

Rory's Twitter


Waiting game: no offers from Inter have been received for Javier Mascherano

Mascherano informed Hodgson as soon as he returned to Merseyside, after an extended post-World Cup break, that his family's failure to settle on Merseyside meant he wished to leave the club he joined in 2007 but as yet Inter, now managed by Rafael Benítez, have failed to lodge a bid.

Though Mascherano, who will miss Thurday night's Europa League play-off round first-leg tie with Turkish side Trabzonspor with a calf injury, remains high on the Spaniard's list of priorities, he has been stymied by owner Massimo Moratti's apparent unwillingness to match Liverpool's £25 million valuation.


Hodgson is adamant the player will not be allowed to leave for anything less than that price, while he remains so confident Mascherano will not agitate for a move should no suitable offers arrive that he has not yet ruled out the possibility of the 26 year-old signing the four-year contract, worth £100,000 a week, he was offered in March.

"As far as I am concerned, I would be quite happy to work with him for two years," said Hodgson. "If he then wanted to walk away, then so be it. The nicest thing of all would be if he signed a new contract. It is there for him. But nobody is putting him under any pressure.

"In an ideal world, if it was simply a matter of whether we would be prepared to listen to offers for him, I would say no, regardless of the money on offer.

"It is only this promise made a year ago [that he would be allowed to leave] that lingers over my head.

"We want an offer that meets what we think is his value and Javier is perfectly happy with that.

"He does not expect the club to let him walk out of here. He hopes that a club comes in where he could be reunited with his family – his wife does not live in Liverpool while he is here, which is the root of the problem – that offers us what he is worth.

"But he has made it clear he does not regard it as a hardship to play for Liverpool. He is resigned to one of two possibilities: either a club does not come along, in which case he stays, or we have an offer which meets his valuation, in which case he may go.

"We will not have an unhappy player if no offer comes in or if an offer comes in and it is so ludicrously below what he, I and the rest of the world knows he is worth."

Hodgson may also have to field an offer from Benítez for Dirk Kuyt after Inter's move for Giuseppe Sculli, the Genoa striker, fell through. The Spaniard's replacement, though, is adamant neither Kuyt, nor his international team-mate Ryan Babel, are for sale.

Diego Cavalieri, though, will leave Liverpool after Thursday's game. The Brazilian goalkeeper, who has made just 10 appearances, none in the Premier League, since joining the club from Palmeiras, will travel to Cesena for a medical before completing a £3 million move. Brad Jones, the former Middlesbrough goalkeeper, has already arrived as a replacement.

"Cavalieri made it clear he was worried he would lose his goalkeeping ability if he had another year watching Pepe Reina play," said Hodgson. "Jones was signed with the idea of letting Diego leave."

Hodgson has also admitted his interest in Ola Toivonen, PSV Eindhoven's £8 million-rated Swedish international striker.

"We have discussed his name," said the Liverpool manager. "I know the player and he is a good player. That does not mean we will rush in and buy him, but we are aware of him

I have nothing but admiration for Roy and the way he is handling this matter. I think privately he is resigned to losing Mascherano but he is not caving in and accepting a fate accompli.

He is making it clear he would like him to stay and sending out all the right messages to any one wishing to buy him that he will not be sold on the cheap.

If Benitez thinks he will get his man by waiting until the window is about to close and making a bid that undervalues the player he could be in for a surprise. I think
Benitez is probably quite surprised by Roy' handling of this matter and hopefully we can hang on to him.

Roy Hodgson gets tough over Mascherano.

Hodgson says Mascherano will only leave Liverpool on his terms
If there remains uncertainty over the £25million-rated midfielder's future - with Barcelona evidently cooling their interest and Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti prepared to pay no more than £15m - there could be no ambiguity over Hodgson's assessment of the situation and insistence there would be no cut-price deal to facilitate his departure.

While understanding Mascherano's reasons for wanting a move, the former Fulham boss made it clear his sympathy stretched only so far and that his conditions for any transfer were not up for negotiation.

Revealing the steely side to his normally affable nature, he stressed that a calf strain was the only reason for the player's absence against Trabzonspor in tonight's Europa League play-off first leg at Anfield.


Should he recover in time, he will be considered for selection in Turkey next Thursday, even though it would cast a further shadow over his hopes of a move by making him ineligible for the Champions League until the knock-out stages next year.

Brushing aside any fears that a brooding Mascherano may allow his discontent to spill on to the pitch, Hodgson confirmed the Argentina skipper had been offered a new four-year contract, thought to be worth close on £100,000 a week, and added he would make him see out the two years left on his current deal, rather than let him go on the cheap.

'If an offer comes in that is commensurate with his value, that is one thing, but Javier does not expect us simply to allow him to walk out of here,' said Hodgson, who is considering resting skipper Steven Gerrard tonight.
'In an ideal world, I would not even be entertaining the idea of listening to any offers, regardless of the amount. It is only because of the promise made to him, amid all the interest from Barcelona a year ago, that we have been prepared to go this far. The fact is, he lives alone in Liverpool, because his wife never settled, so it would benefit him and his family if he moved to another country.

'But he's the best in the world at what he does, so a club have to make an offer that reflects his status. If that happened, and we reneged on our promise, we would have an unhappy player on our hands. But we won't have an unhappy player if there is no offer or only one that is ludicrously below what he, I and the whole world know he is worth. So far, there has been no offer whatsoever.

'That is how things stand, and I would have had no qualms about playing him tomorrow, had he been fit. There has been no pressure to avoid making him cup-tied. He has a new contract offer from us, and I'll be delighted if he decides to sign it. If not, I'll be quite happy to work with him for the next two years, and if he walks away, then so be it.'
Inter's former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is believed to be back on the trail of Dirk Kuyt but was given short shrift by Hodgson, who said bluntly: 'He is not for sale.'

Just 48 hours after Tottenham struggled in the Champions League against Young Boys in Berne, Switzerland, Hodgson warned English football's dominance in Europe was facing another stern test against a Trabzonspor side with six Turkish titles and eight cups to their name.
'The draw was particularly unkind to us in pairing us with the strongest of the unseeded sides,' he said. 'They play in a very competitive league in Turkey and have an excellent record in Europe, so we know what we are up against.'

Hodgson confirmed hi s interest in PSV Eindhoven's Sweden striker Ola Toivonen as he weighed up the claims of striker Fernando Torres and new signing Christian Poulsen for starting places tonight.
'We have watched him (Toivonen) but I can't give you any further indication,' he said. 'Torres is very keen to start, but I haven't decided yet. I don't know if he is up to two games in four days, so we have to be mindful of facing Manchester City on Monday.

'As for Poulsen, he had a pre-season with Juventus and is physically fit. It's his match fitness that is the question.

By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 12:07 PM on 19th August 2010

Miserable Javier Mascherano faces heartbreak in his attempt to quit Liverpool as it emerged that Inter Milan had turned their attention to Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio.

Former Reds boss Rafa Benitez would love to Mascherano to the San Siro, but Inter president Massimo Moratti is not prepared to meet Liverpool's £25million asking price.

Authoritative reports in Milan say the European champions have made Juventus player Marchisio their new No 1 target and will only consider the wantaway Liverpool star if they fail to land a player seen as Italy's next great midfield star.

Mascherano may be forced to stay at Liverpool with potential suitors Inter Milan switching targets
Inter are offering their rivals £12.5m plus Argentina defender Nicolas Burdisso to snare the 24-year-old, who is younger, more versatile and cheaper than 29-year-old Mascherano.
Despite disappointing at the World Cup, Marchisio is still held in very high regard in Serie A.

Mascherano received a promise 12 months ago that he would be allowed to leave this summer, provided he knuckled down last season, and he is pressing Liverpool to keep their word.

However, new boss Roy Hodgson insists the club will not be held to ransom and Inter have followed Barcelona in cooling their interest.

The Argentina captain will not play against Trabzonspor in the Europa League play-off first leg at Anfield, but Hodgson insists this is because of a genuine calf strain rather than a fear of making him cup-tied for suitors wanting to use Mascherano in the Champions League.

Liverpool have actually offered the former West Ham player a new four-year contract, thought to be worth close on £100,000 a week, and will make him see out the two years left on his current deal rather than let him go on the cheap.


'If an offer comes in that is commensurate with his value, that is one thing, but Javier does not expect us simply to allow him to walk out of here,' said Hodgson.

'In an ideal world, I would not even be entertaining the idea of listening to any offers, regardless of the amount.

'It is only because of the promise made to him, amid all the interest from Barcelona a year ago, that we have been prepared to go this far.

'The fact is, he lives alone in Liverpool, because his wife never settled, so it would benefit him and his family if he moved to another country.

'But he's the best in the world at what he does, so a club have to make an offer that reflects his status. If that happened, and we reneged on our promise, we would have an unhappy player on our hands.


'But we won't have an unhappy player if there is no offer or only one that is ludicrously below what he, I and the whole world know he is worth. So far, there has been no offer whatsoever.

'He has a new contract offer from us, and I'll be delighted if he decides to sign it. If not, I'll be quite happy to work with him for the next two years, and if he walks away, then so be it.'

Benitez is also believed to be back on the trail of Dirk Kuyt but was given short shrift by Hodgson, who said bluntly: 'He is not for sale.'