Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has come to Javier Mascherano’s defense. The Liverpool defender has publicly proved his desire to quit Anfield for the Camp Nou. Now his Albiceleste team mate has told the Reds that Mascherano’s transfer issue has finally hit family matters as things become more serious towards the end of the 2010 summer transfer window. Talking to the Daily Express, Lionel Messi boldly stated:
“Javier Mascherano will not play for the club [Liverpool] anymore and you can mark my words. I think that Liverpool’s coach has realized that.
“Javier Mascherano’s family members are not happy and the pressure created makes the player feel depressed. Liverpool must act in a human way and let him go.”
Meanwhile, financial issues are getting in the way of Mascherano’s transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona. The 2009/2010 La Liga champions are reportedly struggling to deal with economical losses, debts and loans. As new club president Sandro Rosell keeps his eyes wide open on his administration, he prefers not to be driven away by Barcelona’s wild desire to acquire expensive football stars.
For example, the Blaugrana’s pursuit for the signature of Cesc Fabregas came to end (at least for now) after Arsenal placed an astronomical price tag on the midfielder. Now Liverpool are asking Barcelona to pay around £25m for Javier Mascherano, and this is a fee which goes well beyond the Catalans’ £10m mark. Explaining issues between Barcelona’s economical situation and Javier Mascherano’s possible transfer from Liverpool, Sandro Rosell stated:
“There is not much to improve on from last season. 
But, between now and the end of the transfer window, we may make an addition to the squad.
“But we won’t throw money out of the window. It’s true that we are not in a good situation economically. However, we will fix that. It is going to take some years, but we will turn this situation around.”
So will Javier Mascherano join Barcelona from Liverpool anytime soon? Dreams are certainly easy to think, but fulfilling them is another thing… certainly, much more difficult. In the meantime, Barcelona need to prepare as La Liga opens this weekend. The defending champions will start the defense of their trophy with a match away to Racing Santander.
Visit the Racing Santander vs Barcelona Live Streaming and TV Schedule page for info around this fixture. This La Liga match is scheduled to start at 13:00 EST on Sunday, August 29.
