Are Liverpool forcing Mascherano to leave?

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano’s Representative Marco Piccioli said on Friday:

“Look, I can tell you that there is a desire from Liverpool to negotiate the player’s sale and the player is ready to join Inter and work with Benitez again. It’s true that I have spoken to Inter’s Marco Branca over the phone and we have agreed to meet up to discuss the situation.”

So are Liverpool trying to force the Argentinean captain out of the club to raise cash? You can look at what Piccioli has said in two ways. 1) That the Reds really want Masch out to raise cash, which is entirely plausible or 2) That Liverpool want him to leave because he has already signalled his intention to move away from England.

One thing I have seen among the majority of Liverpool fans is the belief that if player’s want to leave, they should just leave. If they are not 100% committed to turning the club’s fortunes around then they are not needed, for they will not work as hard as possible for the cause in what will be a difficult season next campaign. With Mascherano, the commitment just doesn’t seem to be there.

Unlike Daniel Agger, who today again expressed his desire to stay at the club no matter what, Mascherano has constantly been quoted talking about a future away from Anfield. At first you give the player the benefit of the doubt that he was either misquoted or the interview was poorly translated, but after constant noises from the Argentinean captain, it becomes worryingly consistent that he wants to leave.

Last summer we heard he wanted to join Barcelona, then after negotiations over a new contract stalled we hear about how his wife and family are failing to adapt to English life and his regrets over the failed Barca move. Now we have constant quotes from his agent over the possibility of him joining Inter Milan, and then he comes out and states he is learning Italian and would like to join up with Rafa Benitez. Don’t get me wrong, Mascherano has been a world class player for us and plays a pivotal role in front of the back four, and in any other circumstances, any attempt by Liverpool to sell one of our best players should be followed by an outcry, but as his desire to leave has become clear, the issue of his sale has become a moot point.

In comparing a world class player who is 50% committed to a club, to a good player 100% committed to the cause; I would take the second option every time. Let’s just hope that if he is sold, the money is used for his replacement or to buy a standard of player befitting Liverpool Football Club. Quality must be replaced by quality or otherwise this team will certainly go backwards.

So in the end, if Masch is forced out of the club like his representative says, it is no big issue for me as long as the money can be used. If the board decide to start selling class players like Daniel Agger, who are totally committed to the club, then we should begin to worry a hell of a lot more.

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Football FanCast writer Oscar Pye-Jeary documents his time in South Africa following England in the 2010 World Cup.

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