Roy Hodgson last night took a bitter parting swipe at Javier Mascherano, branding him “selfish” for going on strike.
The summer-long saga over Mascherano’s future is finally over after Liverpool agreed a £20million deal with Barcelona yesterday.
But Hodgson is still seething over the midfielder’s refusal to play at Manchester City as he forced through his move from Anfield.
The Reds boss was disappointed by the Argentina skipper’s petulant behaviour and claims players should respect their contracts.
“There are a lot of factors I don’t want to be drawn on too much, but it’s not easy to defend his actions because professionals are paid to play and when called upon to do so, they should,” he said.
“It’s a selfish situation where they want to do something and then expect the club and me, in my position as one of the leaders of the club, to bow down and accept they’re going to get their way. Unfortunately then there will be periods of time when there is a bit of unpleasantness.
“Players must understand when you sign contracts, you do so to play. If the club decides it’s going to accept an offer for you and let you go then that’s one thing. If the club say ‘you have a contract, we’re not selling,’ then they are staying.
“It doesn’t bother me as a challenge to my authority, it’s just a fact of life and one that gets exacerbated for a month in January and two or three in the summer.”
Mascherano, 26, has flown to Barcelona for his medical and will sign a four-year deal worth £85,000-a-week with the Catalans.
Hodgson will waste no time in spending his £20m transfer fee and has identified Udinese’s Swiss international Gokhan Inler as his replacement.
Hodgson will also push through Paul Konchesky’s £3m arrival from his old club Fulham and move for PSV Eindhoven striker Ola Toivonen.
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