Javier Mascherano

Born in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, Mascherano came through the youth ranks at River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, before making his club debut he made his name representing Argentina.

Mascherano won his first silverware when River won the 2003–04 Clausura championship. In the 2004 Copa Libertadores River reached the semi-final, but lost on penalties to arch-rivals Boca Juniors. Around this time several clubs including Real Madrid,[6] and Deportivo La Coruña declared an interest in signing Mascherano, but River Plate turned down all offers, saying that none of the interested parties were prepared to pay enough.

2004–05 was not a successful season for River, finishing third in the Apertura Championship and only tenth in the Clausura. In the Copa Libertadores River again lost in the semi-final, this time to São Paulo. After the Confederations Cup in Germany, Brazilian club Corinthians acquired Mascherano from River Plate for US$15 million.

The Brazilian Série A runs from April, so Mascherano joined Corinthians in mid-season. After playing only nine games for his new club, in September 2005, Mascherano suffered a stress fracture to his left foot causing him to miss the end of the season. He returned to Argentina to be operated on by the national team doctor and recuperate.[7][8][9][10] Corinthians, however, still claimed the 2005 Série A championship with the team captained by Mascherano's Argentine compatriot, Carlos Tevez.

In total, Mascherano was out of action for six months, only returning on 5 March 2006.[11] Corinthians were forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores without Mascherano, but he returned in time for the Round of 16 tie against River Plate, which Corinthians lost. The 2006 Brazilian Série A also went badly for Corinthians, and at one stage they were battling against relegation. In June, the league season was interrupted for the 2006 World Cup.

Although his performance drew the attention of European clubs, he stated his desire to remain with Corinthians to help with the relegation battle, and postponed any transfer until January at the earliest.[12] Hours before the northern summer 2006 transfer window closed, however, Mascherano joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee, along with teammate Carlos Tevez.[13]

During the summer of 2006, Mascherano was linked with top clubs around Europe; he stated he would relish playing in Spain for Real Madrid or Barcelona, but eventually signed for West Ham United in the English Premier League alongside Carlos Tevez. Mascherano holds an Italian passport due to his ancestry from Sicily.[14]

The move to West Ham was seen as surprising, with many of Europe's top clubs having been linked with Mascherano all summer. There were many rumours about the nature of the transfer, primarily regarding Media Sports Investment's interest in buying-out West Ham. Rumours included speculation as to whether West Ham truly owned the players, or whether a third party held their registration, and also that if a high enough (£112 million was touted) offer was received West Ham would be forced to sell.[15] (It has since been discovered that Mystere Services and Global Soccer Agencies are the companies that owned Mascherano.)[16]

Before Mascherano joined, West Ham had won one game, drawn one and lost one. Upon his arrival, however, the team went into free-fall, losing eight games and drawing one game in all competitions before their next win on 29 October. During this time, Mascherano rarely featured in the team despite their struggles, prompting rumours about financial clauses related to the amount of time he actually played. In October, Argentina national coach Alfio Basile stated that he hoped Mascherano would leave West Ham "as soon as possible", and, "I hope for God's sake that Mascherano can go to Juventus."[17]

On 16 January 2007, Liverpool requested clearance from FIFA to take Mascherano on loan from West Ham.[18] FIFA's rules state that no player can play for more than two clubs between 1 July and 30 June the following year as Mascherano had already played for both Corinthians and West Ham during this time.

FIFA approved the deal on 31 January 2007.[19] However, although Liverpool submitted his registration details before the midnight transfer deadline, the Premier League did not immediately announce whether it would allow Mascherano to play for Liverpool, saying that it wanted to "take time to satisfy itself with the proposed arrangements".[20]

In a further development, it was announced on 2 March that the Premier League were charging West Ham with breaking rule B13, concerning acting in good faith, and rule U18, which concerns the influence of third-party ownership.[21] On 27 April, the Premier League issued West Ham a world-record fine of £5.5 million.[22]

Mascherano in a training session for Liverpool in 2008

On 10 February 2007, Liverpool added Mascherano to their UEFA Champions League squad and gave him the number 20 shirt. Eventually, on 20 February 2007, Mascherano's move to Liverpool became official after the Premier League accepted Liverpool's request to register the player at Anfield.[23]

Mascherano made his debut for Liverpool against Sheffield United on 24 February 2007,[24] and was praised by the Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez and team captain Steven Gerrard after Liverpool's 4–0 victory. After playing in a match against Arsenal on 31 March, Benítez called Mascherano a "monster of a player".[25] Similarly, his teammates were impressed by his talent; Xabi Alonso noted how mature a player he was for his age, saying, "He has a cool mind on the pitch. He is analysing and thinking about the game in each moment."[6] Mascherano's first Champions League appearance came in the quarter-final first leg away to PSV Eindhoven on 3 April. Hastily establishing himself as a starter at the club, Mascherano played in the Champions League Final that year against Milan. He and teammate Alonso were successful in stifling the creative play of both Kaká and Clarence Seedorf for much of the match but Liverpool eventually succumbed to Milan, losing 2–1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.[26] He was voted Liverpool's man of the match by the fans on the official Liverpool website.[27]

Mascherano playing for Liverpool in 2010.

Following months of speculation, Mascherano signed a four-year permanent contract with Liverpool on 29 February 2008, ending his association with Media Sports Investments.[28] The transfer reportedly cost Liverpool £18.6 million,[29] and covered not only the transfer fee, but also the player's wages for the four-year deal.[30] It was allowed to go through immediately as Mascherano was not contracted to another club, making him exempt from the rules of the transfer window. He scored his first Premier League and Liverpool goal on 15 March 2008, with a 20-yard strike against Reading.[31]

On 29 November 2009, Mascherano claimed the first goal in the 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park when his 30-yard shot appeared to be heading just off target before it took a wicked deflection off Joseph Yobo before finding the net. The goal officially went down as an own goal.[32] In a match against Portsmouth on 19 December 2009, Mascherano was sent off for committing a bad foul on Tal Ben Haim. It was later confirmed that the sending off meant a four-match suspension for Mascherano. This was due to this being his second red card of the season, Liverpool went on to lose the match 2–0.[33] Mascherano had the worst disciplinary record of the 2009–10 Premier League season with seven yellow cards and two red.[34] He scored his first goal of the season with a bullet of a shot from outside the area in the UEFA Europa League against Unirea Urziceni away from home in a match Liverpool won 3–1 to secure their place in the round of 16 of the competition with an aggregate win of 4–1.[35]

On 27 July 2010, after returning from a break after the 2010 World Cup, Mascherano informed new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson that he wanted to leave the club.[36] During that break, Hodgson had failed with several attempts to contact Mascherano, able only to leave messages for him saying that he was looking forward to meeting him back on Merseyside as his calls went unreturned.[37]

Mascherano was held in high esteem by the Liverpool fans, who gave him his own song, (to the tune of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army").[38] After winning the 2011 Champions League Final with Barcelona against Manchester United, Mascherano, speaking directly after the match, said, "I want to say, I know that Liverpool supporters, after my exit, I know they were a little bit sad with me—this is for them as well."[39][40]

Liverpool announced on 27 August that they had agreed a £17.25 million transfer fee with Barcelona for the player and had given permission for him to speak with the Spanish club.[41]

In his first game at Old Trafford against Manchester United on 23 March 2008, Mascherano was sent off after collecting two yellow cards.[42] He was initially booked for a late tackle on Paul Scholes, and later dismissed for running towards referee Steve Bennett to protest a yellow card shown to Fernando Torres. Mascherano had to be pushed from the field of play by Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Rafael Benítez was forced to leave the dugout and plead with Mascherano to leave the field, and he was escorted down the tunnel by Peter Crouch. The Football Association ruled that the usual one-game suspension be increased to three games for improper conduct.[43] Mascherano admitted the improper conduct charge levelled at him, but appealed against the further two-to-three-match suspension.[44] This appeal was denied by the FA, however,[45] and Mascherano was also fined £15,000; he demanded that this fine would be paid to a charity.[46]

With the controversial incident behind him, Mascherano would play a role in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Manchester United at Anfield on 13 September 2008, although he was at fault for failing to cover countryman Carlos Tevez, who scored for United less than three minutes into the game. Mascherano made amends for his mistake, and was instrumental in creating the goal which put Liverpool 2–1 up. Mascherano was voted Man of the Match by the fans on Liverpool's official website.[47]

Mascherano playing for Barcelona in 2012.

On 28 August 2010, Mascherano agreed terms on a four-year deal contract with Barcelona for €24 million.[48] On 30 August 2010, Mascherano passed his medical to complete his transfer to Barça, and told Barça TV, "The truth is it's a dream, it's a great joy."[49] He made his league debut on 11 September 2010, starting in a 0–2 home defeat against recently promoted Hércules, marking the first defeat at the Camp Nou in 16 months. Mascherano had a mixed season at the Camp Nou, spending the first half of the season mainly coming off the bench but for the latter part playing out of position in a centre-back role. On 28 May 2011, Mascherano started alongside Gerard Piqué in the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United at the Wembley Stadium. Barcelona went on to win the game 3–1, with Mascherano dedicating the win to Liverpool fans, some of which he had upset during his move. In the run to the final, Mascherano denied Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner a certain goal with a sliding tackle towards the end of the second leg of the round of 16 match, with the Catalan side beating the Gunners 3–1, 4–3 on aggregate.

In his second season, Mascherano played almost exclusively as a centre back, putting in consistent performances starting regularly for the team in defence.

On 26 July 2012, Mascherano signed a contract extension with Barcelona, keeping him with the Catalan giants until 2016. His buyout clause was set at €100 million.[50] On 7 June 2014, Mascherano signed an extension on his contract, tying him to the Catalan club until 2018 and keeping his buyout clause at €100 million.[51]

On 6 June 2015, Mascherano started in the 2015 Champions League final, as the club won its fifth Champions League title by defeating Juventus 3-1 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[52] This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup/Champions League twice.[53]

Upon club captain Xavi's departure in 2015, Mascherano was named the 4th captain of Barcelona for the 2015-16 season behind Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. On 27 July 2016, Mascherano signed a new contract with Barcelona, which would keep him at the club until 2019.[54]

On 26 April 2017, Mascherano scored his first and only goal for Barcelona, a penalty kick in a La Liga match against Osasuna.[55]

On 23 January 2018, Barcelona announced that Mascherano would leave the club after seven and a half seasons.[56]

On 24 January 2018, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune announced the signing of Mascherano for €5.5 million,[57][58] which would be effective 2 days later.[59] He scored his first goal for the club in a Chinese FA Cup match against Shandong Luneng Taishan on 2 May 2018.[60]

On 23 November 2019, it was announced that Mascherano would be joining Argentine club Estudiantes in January 2020 on a free transfer.[61] He made his official debut in a league match against San Lorenzo on 25 January 2020, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

On 15 November 2020, Mascherano announced his retirement as a professional footballer.[62]

In December 2021, Mascherano was named manager of the Argentina under-20 team, taking over the side in early January.[63]

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