Mascherano refuses to play against Man City
Javier Mascherano is refusing to play for Liverpool against Manchester City on Monday night as he seeks to negotiate a transfer away from the club.
Mascherano is effectively going on strike and doubts will be raised whether he will ever turn out for the club again.The player has previously said that he wants out of Anfield this summer, although Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has remained confident of keeping his star midfielder. However, despite Inter Milan dropping their interest in the Argentine, Barcelona are reported to have made a bid for his services.
The Guardian claim that the bid is ?15 million (£12.2 million) and includes former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb and Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres as makeweights.
Liverpool are understood to have rejected the offer as they want ?30 million (£24.4 million) up front with no player exchanges as part of the deal.
Mascherano was excellent in the opening draw against Arsenal, but missed the Europa League tie through Trabzonspor through injury - thus allowing him to play in European club competitions if he secures a move before the end of the transfer window next week.
Lucas, who took Mascherano's place against Trabzonspor, looks set to replace him in the starting line-up against City.
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