Liverpool
manager Rafa
Benitez will tell Argentine
midfielder Javier
Mascherano that he will not be allowed
to leave Anfield when the team reconvene for their pre-season
preparations this week.
Rumours that the player was seeking a move gathered pace over the
weekend, with a Daily
Mail report on Sunday suggesting that the Reds were
about to offer him a lucrative new contract, tripling his current
wages, in order to tempt him to stay.
His wife was reported to be unhappy in England, and Barcelona were
apparently lurking with intent, hoping to tempt the anchorman with
the prospect of a move to Catalunya.
A report in today's Liverpool
Echo, though, intimates that he will be told that he
has no option but to stay on Merseyside, with Benitez informing
reporters that both Mascherano and Xabi Alonso "owed" the club for
the part it had played in reigniting their respective
careers.
The report also states that there are no plans to offer the player
an improved deal, as he is only 18 months into the four-year
contract he was awarded in February 2008.
Benitez is believed to be hoping to motivate the player to stay
with the prospect of glory at Anfield, and an offer of a new
contract will only be forthcoming once he has affirmed his loyalty
to the Reds once again.
<!--h3>Zack Wilson</h3-->