Barcelona star Lionel Messi has urged Liverpool to let his Argentinean teammate Javier Mascherano leave the club.
Mascherano’s future at Liverpool has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks and came to a height on Monday night, when Roy Hodgson left the 26-year old out of the team to face Manchester City, saying he was ‘not in the right frame of mind’ to play at Eastlands.
Mascherano has been looking to leave the club for some time, saying that he wants a change a lifestyle and to experience life in a different country. And his international teammate Messi has urged the Liverpool hierarchy to let him leave the club for the sake of his family.
“Javier won’t play for the club again, I can assure you of that, and I think the Liverpool coach knows that now,†Messi told the Daily Express.
“Javier’s family are unhappy and the pressure of seeing that is making him depressed. Liverpool must act humanely and let him go.”
Barcelona have had a bid for Mascherano rejected already, with the club’s offer falling far below Liverpool’s valuation of the player.
Inter Milan, meanwhile, have confirmed that they have also made a bid for the want-away midfielder.
Sporting director Marco Branca told the Sun: “I sent an offer to Liverpool by fax on Tuesday and I am waiting for a reply from them.”
“We’re not speaking to the player at the moment because we want to do this in the right way and make sure that Liverpool are happy.
“Everybody knows that Mascherano would like to change team and to change country. He also has a good relationship with our manager Rafa Benitez.
“We’ve made a very good offer, around the amount they are asking for. We have a strong team here, the best in Europe, but we would like to add one or two players to make us even stronger.”
