Barcelona completes deal for Javier Mascherano
Former Liverpool star Javier Mascherano has finalized his deal to Barcelona, putting ink to a four-year contract for the Catalan side. The report was confirmed by Barcelona's official website on Monday.
The Argentine star underwent his medical on Monday morning, ending his four-year tenure at the Merseyside club.
The deal is rumored to be worth 22 million euros.
Mascherano joins arguably the strongest side in world football. He will slip into the defensive midfield role, joining Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
A River Plate product, he joined the English Premier League from Corinthians of Brazil in 2006. Mascherano spent a season at West Ham United before signing for Liverpool and Rafael Benitez.
It was believed that Benitez, now the coach of Inter Milan, attempted to bring the defensive midfielder to the San Siro. Even after the transfer of Mario Ballotelli to Manchester City, Inter could not complete the move.
Mascherano, 26, is the captain of the Argentina national team and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
He is known for his ability to control the entire midfield. A physical player with a short temper, Mascherano is also known for his solid passing, aggressiveness, and his ability to eliminate opposing offensive threats.
Mascherano joins David Villa and Adriano as the new signings for the season.
Barcelona opened up its season with a 3-0 win against Racing Santander on Sunday. Their next game will be on Sunday as they host Hercules.
The move leaves Liverpool reeling as they lose their most important player to last year's La Liga champion.
With the inability of Fernando Torres to regain his old form, and without Steven Gerrard playing his normal fantastic football, Liverpool may have trouble qualifying for European football this season.
It has been a run of turmoil at the English club as they have lost their most important player, their head coach, and the expectations of ownership turnover has led to instability and an uproar from the Anfield faithful.
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