Liverpool Football Club News

• Nickname:Reds
• Founded:1892
• Manager:Kenny Dalglish

• Ground:Anfield
• Capacity:45,362

Reds seal Mascherano deal

29 Feb 2008 - 15:55:28

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Liverpool have finally completed the permanent signing of Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano on a four-year contract.

The 23-year-old has been on loan at Anfield since January 2007, making 40 appearances for the Merseysiders following his arrival from West Ham United.

A permanent deal for his services failed to materialise during the January transfer window despite a fee - believed to be £17million - and personal terms being agreed.

However, boss Rafa Benitez is delighted that the deal has now gone through.

He told the club's official website: "We must be really pleased with the situation now. He has been a key player for us since he has been here and now we know he can be a key player in our future.

"From the start we knew Javier was a player with quality and a fantastic mentality. We knew the player when he was in the reserves at River Plate, but was playing for the senior national team and we had been monitoring his career since then.

"He is young, but he has great experience having played for his country. We knew he would be a good signing for us.

"It's clear that he is one of the best midfielders in the world, but he can get better with us. We now have a lot of good options in the centre of midfield and that's good news for the club."