Javier Mascherano calls time on illustrious career | OneFootball

Javier Mascherano has officially announced his retirement from football.

The 36-year-old started his career in his native Argentina at River Plate before earning a move to Corinthians.

It wasn’t long before his performances in Brazil were noticed further afield, and Mascherano joined Premier League side West Ham in a move that raised some eyebrows due to the involvement of a third party in the deal.

The defensive midfielder spent little over six months with the Hammers before being snapped up by Liverpool.

It was at Anfield that he really announced himself, helping the Reds to reach a Champions League final in 2007 and playing an integral part in their ultimately unsuccessful title challenge two years later.

Rafael Benitez left the Merseysiders as manager in the summer of 2010, and Mascherano wasn’t prepared to stay on as the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett threatened to destroy the club.

Instead he moved to Barcelona on a €24m deal and it was at the Nou Camp that he would enjoy the most fruitful period of his career.

Mascherano won five LaLigas, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups, among a plethora of other trophies during his eight-year spell in Catalonia.

He would move on to Hebei China Fortune for a brief period before returning to Argentina to finish his playing days at Estudiantes.

And now Mascherano has decided to bring the curtain down on an illustrious career that saw him earn a record 147 senior international caps for La Albiceleste.

To paraphrase the great Bill Shankly, he made a lot of people happy.