Barcelona are said to be one of a number of clubs in Spain eager to sign Javier Mascherano if Liverpool fail to convert his loan a permanent transfer.
The status of Javier Mascherano at Liverpool has been a vexed question for several weeks, with Reds' manager Rafael Benitez publicly urging the club's American co-owners to act quickly to sign the Argentine on a permanent basis - or risk losing the key defensive midfielder.
Benitez and owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, have appeared to fall out over this and related transfer issues, the Spaniard urging haste and suggesting that the Americans do not understand how the European transfer market works.
But the future at Anfield of Mascherano - and, some believe, of Benitez himself - remains uncertain.
Liverpool dropped more home points last night to struggling Wigan and were overtaken in the table again by Manchester City. Should Liverpool remain outside the top four, Hicks and Gillett will see their already-strained financial plans for the club further compromised, in turn putting Benitez under greater pressure.
It is looking likely that he will not be allowed to spend much money in the January transfer window, and with Mascherano's loan ending in the summer, they risk losing the Argentine star.
Hicks and Gillett are not willing to spend £17million to secure him now, which could prompt the player's agents to tout him around Europe to the highest bidders.
And Barcelona are, says the Daily Mail, poised to pounce.
Mascherano himself is quoted as saying: "With the time that has passed, it will now be more difficult for me to stay here because I need to do something about my future.
"I have done everything to stay but now the owners have to decide if they want to buy me or not."
The status of Javier Mascherano at Liverpool has been a vexed question for several weeks, with Reds' manager Rafael Benitez publicly urging the club's American co-owners to act quickly to sign the Argentine on a permanent basis - or risk losing the key defensive midfielder.
Benitez and owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, have appeared to fall out over this and related transfer issues, the Spaniard urging haste and suggesting that the Americans do not understand how the European transfer market works.
But the future at Anfield of Mascherano - and, some believe, of Benitez himself - remains uncertain.
Liverpool dropped more home points last night to struggling Wigan and were overtaken in the table again by Manchester City. Should Liverpool remain outside the top four, Hicks and Gillett will see their already-strained financial plans for the club further compromised, in turn putting Benitez under greater pressure.
It is looking likely that he will not be allowed to spend much money in the January transfer window, and with Mascherano's loan ending in the summer, they risk losing the Argentine star.
Hicks and Gillett are not willing to spend £17million to secure him now, which could prompt the player's agents to tout him around Europe to the highest bidders.
And Barcelona are, says the Daily Mail, poised to pounce.
Mascherano himself is quoted as saying: "With the time that has passed, it will now be more difficult for me to stay here because I need to do something about my future.
"I have done everything to stay but now the owners have to decide if they want to buy me or not."
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