Javier Mascherano

Javier Alejandro Mascherano (Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ aleˈxandɾo mastʃeˈɾano], Italian: [maskeˈraːno]; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, most notably for Liverpool, Barcelona and the Argentina national team, being heralded as one of the best defenders and midfielders of his generation.

Mascherano began his career at River Plate, where he earned his first senior honours, the Argentine Primera División, in the 2003–04 season. He moved to Brazilian side Corinthians in 2005, winning the Brazilian Série A that same year, and then joined West Ham United in the Premier League; however, his brief time with the Hammers was blighted by unusual contract terms with Global Soccer Agencies. At the beginning of 2007, Mascherano was loaned out to Liverpool and reached the UEFA Champions League final. Afterwards, his deal was made permanent for £18.7 million. He left for Barcelona in 2010, winning five La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups among other honours, in eight years. He ended his career in 2020 after spells at Hebei China Fortune and Estudiantes.

Mascherano made 147 appearances for the Argentina national team and is the second most capped player in the country's history (after Lionel Messi). From his debut in 2003 until his retirement in 2018, he represented the nation at five Copa América tournaments, finishing runner-up in 2004, 2007, 2015, and 2016, and four FIFA World Cups, reaching the 2014 final. He twice won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, becoming the first male footballer to achieve this double feat since Hungarian defender Dezső Novák in 1968. Between 2008 and 2011, Mascherano served as the captain of Argentina.

Mascherano began working as a manager in 2022, with the Argentina under-20 and under-23 teams, coaching the latter at the 2024 Olympics. At the end of 2024 he was appointed by Inter Miami, where he won the MLS Cup in 2025.

Born in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, Mascherano came through the youth ranks at River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, before making his club debut he made his name representing Argentina.

Mascherano won his first silverware when River won the 2003–04 Clausura championship. In the 2004 Copa Libertadores River reached the semi-final, but lost on penalties to arch-rivals Boca Juniors. Around this time several clubs including Real Madrid, and Deportivo La Coruña declared an interest in signing Mascherano, but River Plate turned down all offers, saying that none of the interested parties were prepared to pay enough.

2004–05 was not a successful season for River, finishing third in the Apertura Championship and only tenth in the Clausura. In the Copa Libertadores River again lost in the semi-final, this time to São Paulo. After the Confederations Cup in Germany, Brazilian club Corinthians acquired Mascherano from River Plate for US$15 million.

The Brazilian Série A runs from April, so Mascherano joined Corinthians mid-season. After playing only nine games for his new club, in September 2005, Mascherano fractured his left foot, causing him to miss the end of the season. He returned to Argentina to be operated on by the national team doctor and recuperate. Corinthians, however, still won the Série A title with Mascherano's compatriot, Carlos Tevez, as captain.

In total, Mascherano was out of action for six months, only returning on 5 March 2006. Corinthians were forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores without Mascherano, but he returned in time for the Round of 16 tie against River Plate, which the Timão lost. The 2006 Brazilian Série A also went badly for Corinthians – at one point, they were even battling relegation. In June, the league was interrupted for the 2006 World Cup.

Although his performances in both Brazil and Germany drew the attention of European clubs, Mascherano stated his desire to remain with Corinthians to help with their relegation battle and postponed any transfer until January at the earliest. Hours before the summer transfer window of 2006 closed in Europe, however, he joined West Ham United alongside Tevez for an undisclosed fee.

Throughout the summer of 2006, Mascherano was linked with top clubs around Europe; he stated he would relish playing in Spain for Real Madrid or Barcelona. Serie A side Juventus was also interested in him, but he came with Carlos Tevez to West Ham United instead. There were many rumours about the surprise nature of Mascherano and Tevez's transfers, primarily regarding Media Sports Investment's interest in buying out the club and whether they truly owned the two players, or whether a third party held their registration, and also that if a high enough (£112 million was touted) offer was received, West Ham would be forced to sell. (It has since been discovered that Mystere Services and Global Soccer Agencies are the companies that owned Mascherano.)

Before Mascherano joined, West Ham had won, drew and lost one game each. Upon his arrival, however, the Hammers went into free-fall, losing eight times and drawing once in all competitions before their next win on 29 October. During this time, Mascherano rarely featured in the squad despite their struggles, prompting rumours about financial clauses related to the amount of time he actually played. In October, national team coach Alfio Basile stated that he hoped Mascherano would leave West Ham "as soon as possible" and join Juventus.

On 16 January 2007, Liverpool requested clearance from FIFA to take Mascherano on loan from West Ham. FIFA's rules state that no player can play for more than two clubs between 1 July and 30 June the following year, as Mascherano had already played for both Corinthians and West Ham during that time.

FIFA approved the deal on 31 January 2007. However, although Liverpool submitted his registration details before the midnight transfer deadline, the Premier League did not immediately announce whether it would allow Mascherano to play for Liverpool, saying that it wanted to "take time to satisfy itself with the proposed arrangements".

In a further development, it was announced on 2 March that the Premier League were charging West Ham with breaking rule B13, concerning acting in good faith, and rule U18, which concerns the influence of third-party ownership. On 27 April, the Premier League issued West Ham a world-record fine of £5.5 million.

On 10 February 2007, Liverpool added Mascherano to their UEFA Champions League squad and gave him the number 20 shirt. Eventually, on 20 February 2007, Mascherano's move to Liverpool became official after the Premier League accepted Liverpool's request to register the player at Anfield.

Mascherano made his debut for Liverpool against Sheffield United on 24 February 2007, and was praised by the Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez and team captain Steven Gerrard after Liverpool's 4–0 victory. After playing in a match against Arsenal on 31 March, Benítez called Mascherano a "monster of a player". Similarly, his teammates were impressed by his talent; Xabi Alonso noted how mature a player he was for his age, saying, "He has a cool mind on the pitch. He is analysing and thinking about the game in each moment." Mascherano's first Champions League appearance came in the quarter-final first leg away to PSV Eindhoven on 3 April. Hastily establishing himself as a starter at the club, Mascherano played in the Champions League final that year against Milan. He and teammate Alonso were successful in stifling the creative play of both Kaká and Clarence Seedorf for much of the match but Liverpool eventually succumbed to Milan, losing 2–1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. He was voted Liverpool's man of the match by the fans on the official Liverpool website.

Following months of speculation, Mascherano signed a four-year permanent contract with Liverpool on 29 February 2008, ending his association with Media Sports Investments. The transfer reportedly cost Liverpool £18.6 million, and covered not only the transfer fee, but also the player's wages for the four-year deal. It was allowed to go through immediately as Mascherano was not contracted to another club, making him exempt from the rules of the transfer window. He scored his first Premier League and Liverpool goal on 15 March 2008, with a 20-yard strike against Reading.

On 29 November 2009, Mascherano claimed the first goal in the 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park when his 30-yard shot appeared to be heading just off target before it took a wicked deflection off Joseph Yobo before finding the net. The goal officially went down as an own goal. In a match against Portsmouth on 19 December 2009, Mascherano was sent off for committing a bad foul on Tal Ben Haim. It was later confirmed that the sending off meant a four-match suspension for Mascherano. This was due to this being his second red card of the season, Liverpool went on to lose the match 2–0. Mascherano had the worst disciplinary record of the 2009–10 Premier League season with seven yellow cards and two red. He scored his first goal of the season with a bullet of a shot from outside the area in the UEFA Europa League against Unirea Urziceni away from home in a match Liverpool won 3–1 to secure their place in the round of 16 of the competition with an aggregate win of 4–1.

On 27 July 2010, after returning from a break after the 2010 World Cup, Mascherano informed new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson that he wanted to leave the club. During that break, Hodgson had failed with several attempts to contact Mascherano, able only to leave messages for him saying that he was looking forward to meeting him back on Merseyside as his calls went unreturned.

In his first game at Old Trafford against Manchester United on 23 March 2008, Mascherano was sent off after collecting two yellow cards. He was initially booked for a late tackle on Paul Scholes, and later dismissed for running towards referee Steve Bennett to protest a yellow card shown to Fernando Torres. Mascherano had to be pushed from the field of play by Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Rafael Benítez was forced to leave the dugout and plead with Mascherano to leave the field, and he was escorted down the tunnel by Peter Crouch. The Football Association ruled that the usual one-game suspension be increased to three games for improper conduct. Mascherano admitted the improper conduct charge levelled at him, but appealed the further two-to-three-match suspension. This appeal was denied by the FA, however, and Mascherano was also fined £15,000; he demanded that this fine would be paid to a charity.

With the controversial incident behind him, Mascherano would play a role in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Manchester United at Anfield on 13 September 2008, although he was at fault for failing to cover countryman Carlos Tevez, who scored for United less than three minutes into the game. Mascherano made amends for his mistake, and was instrumental in creating the goal which put Liverpool 2–1 up. Mascherano was voted Man of the Match by the fans on Liverpool's official website.

On 28 August 2010, Mascherano agreed terms on a four-year contract with Barcelona for €24 million. On 30 August 2010, Mascherano passed his medical to complete his transfer and told Barça TV, "The truth is it's a dream, it's a great joy." He made his league debut on 11 September 2010, starting in a 0–2 home defeat against recently promoted Hércules, marking the first defeat at the Camp Nou in 16 months. Mascherano had a mixed season at the Camp Nou, spending the first half of the season mainly coming off the bench but for the latter part playing out of position in a centre-back role. On 28 May 2011, Mascherano started alongside Gerard Piqué in the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United at the Wembley Stadium. Barcelona went on to win the game 3–1, with Mascherano dedicating the win to Liverpool fans, some of which he had upset during his move. In the run to the final, Mascherano denied Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner a certain goal with a sliding tackle towards the end of the second leg of the round of 16 match, with the Catalan giants beating the Gunners 3–1, 4–3 on aggregate.

In his second season, Mascherano played almost exclusively as a centre-back, putting in consistent performances starting regularly for Barcelona in defence.

On 26 July 2012, Mascherano signed a contract extension, keeping him with the Blaugrana until 2016. His buyout clause was set at €100 million. On 7 June 2014, Mascherano signed an extension on his contract, tying him to the Catalan club until 2018 and keeping his buyout clause at €100 million.

On 6 June 2015, Mascherano started in the 2015 Champions League final, as the club won its fifth Champions League title by defeating Juventus 3–1 at Berlin's Olympiastadion. This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup/Champions League twice.

Upon club captain Xavi's departure in 2015, Mascherano was named the 4th captain of Barcelona for the 2015–16 season behind Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets. On 27 July 2016, Mascherano signed a new contract with Barcelona, which would keep him at the club until 2019.

On 24 January 2018, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune announced the signing of Mascherano for €5.5 million, which would be effective 2 days later. He scored his first goal for the club in a Chinese FA Cup match against Shandong Luneng Taishan on 2 May 2018.

On 23 November 2019, it was announced that Mascherano would be joining Argentine club Estudiantes in January 2020 on a free transfer. He made his official debut in a league match against San Lorenzo on 25 January 2020, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

On 15 November 2020, Mascherano announced his retirement from professional football.

Mascherano's first international appearance came in 2001. September of that year saw him play on the Argentina team that finished fourth in the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. In June 2003, he played at the Toulon Tournament, becoming the competition's best player as Argentina's under-20s finished 3rd.

Mascherano's impact at youth levels was such that he made his senior international debut before playing a single minute for River Plate's first team (due to his central midfield position at club level being occupied by River's long standing captain Leonardo Astrada, nicknamed the Chief). That international debut came in a friendly against Uruguay on 16 July 2003.

Halfway through the 2003–04 Apertura championship, Mascherano was called up to play in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship. Argentina again finished fourth with Mascherano the team's outstanding player. He was however suspended for the third place play-off.

In January 2004, Mascherano joined up with Argentina U23 for the South American Pre-Olímpico tournament in Chile. Argentina won the tournament, thereby qualifying for the 2004 Summer Olympics. In August, Mascherano and the team went on to become gold medal-winners in Greece.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, Mascherano was included in the Argentina senior squad for the 2004 Copa América. Argentina lost to Brazil on penalties in the final, but Mascherano impressed enough to be voted Argentina's player of the tournament by his teammates.

In December 2021, Mascherano was named manager of the Argentina under-20 team, taking over the side in early January. He led the under-23 team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where Argentina was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

On 26 November 2024, Major League Soccer side Inter Miami appointed Mascherano as their new head coach, on a contract lasting until the end of 2027. He reunited with his former Barcelona and Argentina teammate Lionel Messi. Mascherano faced accusations that he was only hired due to connections to Messi and fellow Camp Nou veterans Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Sergio Busquets; he responded: "People in the world can have their opinion … but I am convinced that I am capable of coaching the team".

On Mascherano's debut on 19 February 2025, the club won 1–0 away to Sporting Kansas City in the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round with a goal by Messi; Mascherano criticised the "inhumane" decision to play the game in temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius in the midwestern city. Three days later, the league campaign began with a 2–2 home draw against New York City FC. Having qualified for the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, his team won the Eastern Conference with a 5–1 victory over NYCFC on 29 November, following it a week later with a 3–1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS Cup 2025. After winning the trophy, he reflected that there had been a lot of pressure on him due to what he conceded were poor results during his previous roles with the Argentine youth teams.

On 14 April 2026, Mascherano resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons.

Nicknamed "El Jefecito" ("The Little Chief"), Mascherano was a versatile, hard-working, and tactically intelligent footballer, with an excellent ability to read the game and organise his team; he was known in particular for his leadership skills, passing accuracy, energy, positional sense, tough marking of opponents, and hard-tackling style of play, despite his relatively small physical stature. Considered as one of the best defenders and defensive midfielders of his generation, although he has primarily served as either a holding midfielder or central defender throughout his career, he has also been deployed as a right-back or even as a box-to-box or central midfielder on occasion. Regarding Mascherano's playing style, Jonathan Wilson noted in a 2013 article for The Guardian that the Argentine was an example of a type of holding midfielder that he dubbed a destroyer, who "clattered about making tackles and collecting bookings, his role almost entirely of regaining possession and distributing it simply."

In October 2015, Mascherano admitted two counts of fraud totalling just over €1.5 million having failed to declare €1.5 million in earnings in 2011 and 2012. In January 2016, he appeared in court in an attempt to avoid imprisonment for the offences, and was fined €800,000. He was sentenced to one year in prison for evasion of tax payments. The sentence was suspended and resulted in no jail time served, provided he did not offend again during the suspended sentence.

Argentine Primera División: 2003–04 Clausura

La Liga: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18

Copa del Rey: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18; runner-up: 2010–11, 2013–14

Copa América runner-up: 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016

Copa América Team of the Tournament: 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016

L'Alcúdia International Football Tournament: 2022