Masch's latest interview!

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-know-truth-leaving-6716580

Former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano reveals the truth about his big-money move to Barcelona. 17 Feb 2014 09:53

Javier Mascherano has revealed he did not refuse to play for the Reds ahead of his £22m move to Barcelona. It was thought the former Liverpool midfielder refused to run out for the club against Manchester City in August 2010, just a week before he completed his transfer to Camp Nou. Roy Hodgson, who was manager at the time, criticised Mascherano for his attitude and accused him of creating a “selfish situation". But Mascherano was keen to put the record straight. “I did not wake up one day and refuse to play," he said in a newspaper interview. “In the game before City we played against Arsenal and I gave everything because I was wearing the Liverpool shirt. “Why would I do that and risk getting injured when I knew that Barcelona were close to signing me and then refused to play in another game. “That doesn't make sense." Mascherano was a Kop hero in his three-and-a-half years at Anfield after joining from West Ham in February 2007. And he does not regret keeping the silence on his situation out of respect for the Reds. “I didn't want to say anything at the time because of my respect for Liverpool," he said. “I did not want to say anything about a club that had been so good for me, so I kept my mouth shut. “Maybe that was a mistake, because it allowed other people to say bad things about me. “But I do not regret it. Liverpool is a special club and it does not deserve to be treated badly."

Speaking in the aftermath of that 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in August 2010, Hodgson deflected attention towards the midfielder. “It is not easy for me to defend the actions [of Mascherano] because professionals are paid to play and when they are called on to play, they play," said Hodgson. "It is just a selfish situation that they have got something they want to do and they just expect the club, and therefore you as one of the leaders of the club, to bow down and accept that they are going to do it. "Unfortunately there are going to be periods of time when there will be some unpleasantness because players must also understand that when you sign contracts you sign contracts to play.

Mascherano, who was a driving force behind the Reds' run to the 2007 Champions League final, also accused Hodgson of breaking promises. “The people who were there at the time – the manager and [former managing director] Christian Purslow – have gone now but they know the truth. “When I went back to Liverpool for pre-season I had a lot of meetings with them and they were promising a lot of things to me but they never kept their word." Mascherano also said the club had been in talks for 20 days before they started to “make things difficult" for him. He said: “I wanted to leave in another way, but they never gave me the chance to." “That is the truth. It left me with a bad feeling. “My time at the club was over and I needed to move on, but I also needed to leave the club in a good way and that wasn't allowed to happen."