Mascherano reveals: ‘I was very close to signing with Juve’
The 31 year old spoke to the magazine Panenka about his current situation as one of the leaders in the dressing room of La Liga giants, but also about his past experiences at River Plate, West Ham and Liverpool.
Last summer his name was linked to a Juventus move but, as Mascherano himself discloses, there has been another time in his career, when he was very close to sign with the Turin club.
“It was January 2007. I was playing with West Ham and I have just met the Juventus board. I didn’t want to stay in England, because I thought I would have struggled in the Premier League. Then, Rafa Benitez literally knocked at my door saying that he wanted me to join Liverpool.”
“I asked him how it would have been possible for me to play at Anfield Road, as they had already Mohammed Sissoko, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. He convinced me saying that none of them gathered all the qualities that I had and he was not lying.”
Despite being considered as one of the worlds’ finest midfielders, Mascherano’s position at the Nou Camp is next to Gerard Piqué, in the heart of the Catalan’s defense, but that appears to be just like a good compromise for El Jefecito:
“I don’t like playing as a central defender. You can’t make any mistake in that part of the pitch, you always need to be concentrate and focus, also on your lad’s job. I have much more fun during trainings than when I am playing a real game. By the way, if I would have not accepted to play central defender, I won’t have played for Barcelona.”
