Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez believes Javier Mascherano will shrug off the disappointment of his aborted move to Barcelona to help spearhead the Reds' title challenge.
Benitez's side begin their Premier League campaign against Tottenham on Sunday and Benitez is relieved to be able to call upon Argentina captain Mascherano for the match, having lost fellow midfield lynchpin Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid.
While Alonso was eventually granted his dream £30million move to Spain, Mascherano was told he would not be leaving Anfield despite expressing his preference for a switch to Barcelona.
Benitez admits now that there were many times during a fraught summer, during which he believes Mascherano’s head was turned by his international colleague Lionel Messi.
But with the player still having more than three years left on his contract, Benitez was in a position of strength when refusing to do business.
Speaking about the saga, Benitez said: "Javier has a very good friend in the national team and that is Messi.
"Messi was on to him every day and that is not easy, but Javier knows what we think of him and he will be okay."
Now that Mascherano has opted to stay, Benitez is expected to work out a new contract for the player, who had appeared to fall out of love with life in England in the light of Barca’s interest.
Benitez added: "I talked with Javier, his agent and Barca. It is normal they see him as such a good player, and an option for them.
"We told Javier he was so important for us and we wanted to keep him. We were not talking about any price.
"He was a bit disappointed as it was a fantastic opportunity with a big club. But he is happy here, and as a player and a person you can trust him 100%."
Benitez, meanwhile, believes as many as six teams could be challenging for the top four places this season, potentially disrupting the traditional order.
He said: "We can always talk about the top four, but Manchester City are doing a very good job and have bought some excellent players. I can understand why Mr Ferguson at Manchester United is a little bit worried.
"Aston Villa and Tottenham have also spent some money, so there will five, six or more fighting now.
"But we have signed Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani, that is all, we are different.
"The important thing was to try and extend the contracts of key players. And that is what we did.
"We had 86 points last season to finish second, and we have more or less the same squad, so maybe we can do the same again or better.
"But we will need to improve at home, and Johnson as an attacking full-back is the sort of player who can make the difference in difficult home matches when opponents are defending.
"We have lost Sami Hyypia, he will be a big loss because he was a good player, but if Skrtel and Carragher are fit I thought we could manage.
"As for our title chances, the players know we were very close last season and they want to improve. We know what this team can achieve and they will be ready."
Benitez's side begin their Premier League campaign against Tottenham on Sunday and Benitez is relieved to be able to call upon Argentina captain Mascherano for the match, having lost fellow midfield lynchpin Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid.
While Alonso was eventually granted his dream £30million move to Spain, Mascherano was told he would not be leaving Anfield despite expressing his preference for a switch to Barcelona.
Benitez admits now that there were many times during a fraught summer, during which he believes Mascherano’s head was turned by his international colleague Lionel Messi.
But with the player still having more than three years left on his contract, Benitez was in a position of strength when refusing to do business.
Speaking about the saga, Benitez said: "Javier has a very good friend in the national team and that is Messi.
"Messi was on to him every day and that is not easy, but Javier knows what we think of him and he will be okay."
Now that Mascherano has opted to stay, Benitez is expected to work out a new contract for the player, who had appeared to fall out of love with life in England in the light of Barca’s interest.
Benitez added: "I talked with Javier, his agent and Barca. It is normal they see him as such a good player, and an option for them.
"We told Javier he was so important for us and we wanted to keep him. We were not talking about any price.
"He was a bit disappointed as it was a fantastic opportunity with a big club. But he is happy here, and as a player and a person you can trust him 100%."
Benitez, meanwhile, believes as many as six teams could be challenging for the top four places this season, potentially disrupting the traditional order.
He said: "We can always talk about the top four, but Manchester City are doing a very good job and have bought some excellent players. I can understand why Mr Ferguson at Manchester United is a little bit worried.
"Aston Villa and Tottenham have also spent some money, so there will five, six or more fighting now.
"But we have signed Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani, that is all, we are different.
"The important thing was to try and extend the contracts of key players. And that is what we did.
"We had 86 points last season to finish second, and we have more or less the same squad, so maybe we can do the same again or better.
"But we will need to improve at home, and Johnson as an attacking full-back is the sort of player who can make the difference in difficult home matches when opponents are defending.
"We have lost Sami Hyypia, he will be a big loss because he was a good player, but if Skrtel and Carragher are fit I thought we could manage.
"As for our title chances, the players know we were very close last season and they want to improve. We know what this team can achieve and they will be ready."
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