SOCCER:JAVIER MASCHERANO was left out of last night's match with Manchester City after Liverpool rejected a €15 million bid from Barcelona. The Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson, said the midfielder's mind "wasn't right" for the visit to Eastlands having earlier in the day thought he was close to a move to Spain.
The midfielder has already agreed personal terms with the Spanish champions, but the deal stalled with the two clubs still some way apart in their valuation of the 26-year-old Argentinian.
It was reported Barcelona wanted to pay an initial €15 million with an extra €5 million in appearance-based add-ons. However, Hodgson is holding out for €30.5 million and will refuse to let his midfield linchpin go on the cheap.
Before the match, Hodgson admitted: “I don’t know where he is but he’s not here, that’s for sure. His mind wasn’t right so it wasn’t right to select him. Hopefully, I will be able to select him in the future. There’s plenty of interest in him but our position remains the same – until we get an offer that matches our valuation we won’t sell.”
A compromise could be a player-plus-cash deal, with Alexander Hleb, the former Arsenal midfielder, and Martin Caceres used as makeweights.
Despite the eagerness of Mascherano to leave Merseyside, interest from other clubs had been tentative, with Barca’s sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta last week ruling out a move for the player. Whether Barcelona, who are believed to have debts of more than €430 million, can increase their offer is unclear, and much depends on how highly Hodgson rates Caceres and Hleb. Caceres, the Uruguay international defender, spent last season on loan with Juventus after struggling at Camp Nou, while Hleb has proved even less of a success since joining from the Emirates in 2008.
GuardianService
