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Where did this Mascherano talk come from?

RedinSweden

By RedinSweden,
in FF - Football Forum

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coop Grand Master

coop

Posted
Posted

Liverpool want to end the midfielder's West Ham nightmare by taking him on loan, even though he has already played for two clubs in the last 12 months.

 

FIFA's rules forbid a player having three clubs in that time, but Liverpool launched an appeal to be allowed to sign Mascherano, who has played only five games for the Hammers - and none since November - since his controversial signing last summer, along with countryman Carlos Tevez.

 

Benitez, who takes his side to face West Ham at Upton Park on Tuesday for a game crucial to both ends of the Premiership table, believes he will get his man in the end.

 

Benitez said: "We are waiting for FIFA to make a decision, but even if that does not come before the deadline, I believe he will still be able to join us."

 

It appears the only way that could happen then is if West Ham tear up his contract and make Mascherano a free agent. Benitez admitted: "That is an option."

 

The Liverpool boss added: "I hope he will join us, he has great experience.

 

"We know the rule says he cannot play for three clubs, but he is unable to play at West Ham and we must take into consideration the law, and the law is more important than the rules.

 

"He is unable to work at the moment, nobody can say you cannot work."

 

Benitez has trailed the midfielder since before last summer's World Cup, and said: "We were aware of the player when he was at River Plate, he was in the national team at 18. There is no doubt about the quality of the player.

 

"He played well in the World Cup and he is a great professional with talent and quality.

 

"We have good midfielders in Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko and Zenden, but the only holding midfielder is Alonso and the idea is to bring Mascherano here to put pressure on in that role.

 

"If we sign him it will be on loan for one and a half years, at least. He is a good option and has the character and ability to do well in the Premiership.

 

"We have an agreement, but we must wait for the FIFA decision. We hope that will come in the next two days, but if it does not we still believe we will be able to sign him."

 

He continued: "We are doing our best as a club to sort this out. FIFA need to do something before January 31. But if they do not, I still feel we can achieve what we want.

 

"We talked to West Ham and had permission to talk to Mascherano, that says that he is not likely to play for them again.

 

"They used Tevez because they needed strikers, but they had other midfield players with different styles, that made it difficult."

 

It is believed that Tevez and Mascherano have differing contracts, Tevez being able to play as often as West Ham want but Mascherano's has a stipulation that after a certain number of games it would trigger extra payments.

 

Benitez said: "I do not know about the contracts, only that we like him and want to make an agreement."

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RoboRiise Grand Master

RoboRiise

Posted
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If this has come off, I for one am genuinely excited about it. I have no idea at all what's been going on with him at West Ham but unless he's had some kind of footballing mind-wipe over the last six months that we're not aware of, he's definitely a player worth having. With a fully fit squad, we really will have an embarrassment of riches in the middle of the park.

 

Now let's have the funny looking little one...

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RSM Experienced

RSM

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Liverpool have announced the signing of Javier Mascherano from West Ham in an 18-month loan deal that has bent football's rules.

 

Mascherano, who was deemed not good enough for West Ham's relegation battle by Alan Curbishley, will be thrust into Liverpool's Champions League campaign instead.

 

The signing is reward for Liverpool's patience.

 

They hoped to sign the Argentine midfield powerhouse, 22, at the start of the transfer window, but have had to wait while lawyers have thrashed out a deal with UEFA and FIFA, because players aren't supposed to move clubs twice in a season. Mascherano has already played for Corinthians, as well as West Ham.

 

The authorities finally agreed to cave in on the transfer and it will be announced tomorrow, on the final day of the transfer window.

 

Rafa Benitez last night saluted the signing. "We have an agreement to take him on loan for 18 months then we have an option to sign him permanently.

 

"He is a top class player and played at the top level at the World Cup. We were monitoring him when he was with River Plate. The only question is whether he can play to his level in England, but I know he can play a lot better than he did at West Ham.

 

"He is a player with a good character, good mentality and personality and has the qualities we need. I knew about this player when he was with River Plate. He was playing in their reserve team but already in the national team. That shows you the quality and the character of the player.

 

"I have been speaking with one of his former manager's and he was talking really well about him as a player, a person and a professional.

 

"He had a good World Cup and is a good player. Some people might say 'Why do we need another midfielder when we have Gerrard, Alonso, Sissoko and Zenden?' Well, the only holding midfielder is Xabi Alonso and Mascherano will be another option. If we are successful he will sign for at least a year and a half and he has the quality to play well in the Premiership."

 

"We don't have another holding midfielder and this is a crucial time for us. We will play against West Ham, Everton, Newcastle, Sheffield United and Barcelona twice."

 

Mascherano made only three Premiership starts with West Ham, and seven appearances altogether.

 

Benitez added: "Maybe Liverpool can be a better option for him because we can speak in Spanish to him and we play a different style of football that suits him better. Corinthians and River Plate are top sides in their countries and he is used to winning trophies. I think he will have more possibilities with us."

 

Benitez also explained why he expected to get his man. "There is a big difference between the law and the rules," he said. "A worker cannot be stopped working. That's the law in the European Community.

 

"Then there are the rules, which can change depending on your country or continent. There are players in the world now who have played for three or four clubs in a season.

 

"The rules are one thing, but the law is another. Nobody can stop people moving to other jobs. They have freedom and they need to work. The law is more important than the rules."

 

Liverpool are moving to secure the long-term future of a number of their top men because of a new regulation giving a player the right to buy out his contract when it entered the last two years.

 

Benitez confirmed that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher would be offered new deals in the summer along with Spanish pair Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia.

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Josef Svejk Grand Master

Josef Svejk

Posted
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Here's hoping. If we get him, it'll be a bit of a fluke frankly. A year or so ago, Real Madrid and the Scum wanted him, and, let's face it, we were never going to outbid them. So a big thank you to West Ham for making it possible! (And best of luck with the Aussie mercenary...)

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Redexile Experienced

Redexile

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We are allowed one player who has played in the UEFA cup. This was going to be Lucas neill but I now assume it will be him?

 

Made up, if its true, for 18 months.

 

I hope that I'm wrong but it really looks like those twats at FIFA are stalling to avoid making any decision which they feel is a difficult one. If they stall for another 24 hours the deal will be dead and they won't have to decide.

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