When Liverpool fans adoringly belt out their anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in unison before every home match, it is difficult for a player not to become immersed in the idea of being a Liverpool fan.
Javier Mascherano considers himself to be one of those people.
“Yes, I am a Liverpool supporter. I really mean it,” he told FourFourTwo.
But there was a time in 2010 where the Argentine did feel alone and also betrayed — not by the supporters, but by the senior management at the club.
His acrimonious exit out of Merseyside was messy and perhaps unnecessary. But the board were keen to paint him as a villain and it worked, as the fans who had once adored Mascherano targeted him to state their fury in no uncertain terms.
"Liverpool fans weren’t happy with me at all and I completely understood why,” he told FourFourTwo.
"On the other hand, the board at the time had promised me something and weren’t keeping their word.”
Now, 11 years on from his Anfield exit, Mascherano has opened up on the difficult decision to leave Merseyside and his reasons for doing so.
As Harry Kane has recently discovered in trying to engineer a move away from Tottenham before accepting he wouldn’t be moving, verbal agreements in football are worth virtually nothing.
Mascherano knows that better than anybody.
The Argentine international had arrived at Anfield in 2007 after a short spell with West Ham United and formed a popular midfield trio alongside Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.
Mascherano became a key cog in the Reds’ side, making 139 appearances for Liverpool and won a Champions League runners-up medal there in 2007.
His initial loan deal in February 2007 from West Ham was turned into a four-year contract in 2008 after he ended his association with Media Sports Investments.
But despite making important contributions on the pitch, Mascherano had found life living in England tough due to the weather and inability to speak the language.
In particular, his family’s struggles to acclimatise to life in the UK only exacerbated the situation and in 2010, he told the club he wanted out.
"I was really happy in Liverpool, but it was tough for my wife and daughters," he added.
"Although I was playing regularly and the supporters loved me – and they’re extraordinary people – the issue was that I trained for three or four hours a day and had 20 hours left to stay at home.
"It’s difficult to see your family unhappy and unsettled because of the language, the weather… I needed to go somewhere else for the wellbeing of my loved ones."
With his coach Rafa Benitez departing earlier that summer, Mascherano held discussions with new boss Roy Hodgson and managing director at the time, Christian Purslow.
There, the three parties had allegedly struck a verbal agreement which would allow the Argentine to depart if the club received a fair offer — amid interest from Barcelona.
But that is when things took an ugly turn, with Mascherano accusing the board of neglecting his wishes.
"There was an agreement between us that if Liverpool received a decent offer for me, I’d be permitted to leave,” Mascherano revealed.
“We’d spoken about extending my contract, but it seemed like the directors didn’t care about me.
"In the pre-season after Rafa left, Roy Hodgson arrived. We had a meeting with the managing director, Christian Purslow, who told me I could go if a good offer came in. Then there was an offer on the table, but Liverpool were looking the other way.”
It was understood that Barcelona had seen offers of £12million and £15m knocked back by Liverpool, who felt he was worth a great deal more.
It is never well-received when a player refuses to participate in a match and his act of defiance, opting not to play against Manchester City, left Hodgson fuming with his midfielder, who labelled him “selfish” after the game.
Mascherano, though, felt he had no option but to effectively go on strike to get what was promised to him.
"I was quite angry that they weren’t keeping their word,” he said. “Refusing to play at City was the way I found to show my annoyance.
“I’d told the club I wanted to leave for family reasons, so I was very upset to have to act the way I did.
"There was no other option – otherwise, Liverpool wouldn’t keep their promise."
There would be no regrets from his side. After completing his £17.25m switch to Camp Nou, he won five domestic titles, five Copa del Reys, three Spanish Super Cups, two Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups.
All was forgiven between himself and Hodgson though, when in 2015 the then-England manager surprisingly voted him as his first choice for the Ballon d’Or ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi.
That underlined his value as a tenacious midfielder and Mascherano, later converting to a centre-back, made over 200 league appearances for Barcelona before moving to Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune in January 2018.
But even amongst his success with Barcelona, Mascherano didn’t forget the good times he had at Liverpool — and decided to mark it in his own way.
He had contributed to Barcelona’s Champions League triumph in 2010-11 against Manchester United and knowing what such a victory meant to the Reds fans, he dedicated their triumph to them.
"Nobody has ever treated me as well as Liverpool fans did – never,” he said.
“Throughout the three and a half years there, they made me feel like I was one of them; like I was at home.
"That’s why I dedicated Barca’s 2011 Champions League Final win against Manchester United to them: it was the least I could do to pay them back somehow.
“I knew they weren’t happy, and I wanted to share the moment with them.”
If he ever goes back to Anfield as a fan, Mascherano’s peace offering should ensure that will never feel alone again.
