Javier Mascherano has opened up on his ugly Liverpool exit – revealing he REFUSED to play in order to seal a dream move to Barcelona.

Mascherano claims the Reds had agreed to let him leave the club should a ‘decent offer’ come in. But after apparently going back on their word, the Argentine took matters into his own hands and went on strike – ultimately forcing a £22million move to Barcelona in 2010.

Mascherano told FourFourTwo: ‘There was an agreement between us that if Liverpool received a decent offer for me, I’d be permitted to leave. We’d spoken about extending my contract, but it seemed like the directors didn’t care about me. In the pre-season after Rafa [Benitez] 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. I was quite angry that they weren’t keeping their word.”

Mascherano continued by saying sitting out a huge clash with Manchester City was his way to make his feelings clear.

The Argentine continued: “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.”

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