Liverpool are set for a transition period this summer, losing a Champions League-winning manager and stepping into the unknown.
All of that will sound familiar to Javier Mascherano, who was part of the Liverpool squad Rafa Benitez stepped away from in 2010.
The Reds of 2010 are very different from the club of 14 years later, it must be said. Benitez was leaving having finished in eighth place and with the ownership at Anfield in turmoil. In terms of where we are with Jurgen Klopp, things couldn’t be more stark.
Nevertheless, the basics still remain the same. Mascherano had clearly been happy playing under Benitez. But with the manager who brought him to Liverpool no longer around, he pushed to leave and got wish, joining Barcelona.
And, lo and behold, Barca are now said to be interested in Reds winger Luis Diaz, too. As Klopp heads for the exit door, it seems like a couple of loyal players might follow him. Speaking from some kind of experience on this matter, Mascherano has given his thoughts.
Javier Mascherano weighs in on Luis Diaz
As well as Barcelona, PSG have been rumoured to be interested in signing Diaz from Liverpool this summer. The French club’s interest is said to be ‘real’ and possibly stronger than Barca’s.
This has of course been big news in Diaz’s native Colombia, for whom he stars for at international level.
And now, one of the nation’s TV stations, Antena 2, carries quotes from Mascherano about what the 27-year-old should do. Happily, Masch is urging Diaz not to take the same path he did and leave Liverpool.
“He’s a great player, very decisive when it comes to playing, especially in one-on-one duels. The truth is that I think he has arrived at a team that fits him fairly,” says the Argentine.
“If there’s one thing Liverpool has, it’s that they love players like Luis Diaz who leave everything on the pitch and have that strength and leave everything on the pitch. That’s why I think he fits right where he has arrived.”
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This is nice to hear from Mascherano. It’s also especially relevant as he too was exactly the kind of player he refers to Diaz as being.
‘El Jefe’ as he was known, was as combative as they come. Like his Colombian counterpart, Mascherano would give everything out on the pitch every time he played for Liverpool.
Obviously, it’s hard to say that Mascherano exactly came to regret leaving the Reds especially. He went on to become a big part of an all-time great Barcelona team after all. But it’s clear that he also wouldn’t advise anyone else to leave behind what they have at Anfield.
For Diaz, he will possibly have to make that decision in the very near future. We’re now seeing the best of him once again and with a new song being sung by the Kop, he’s a crowd favourite. If PSG or Barca come in for him in the summer, he should remember that.