Javier Mascherano completes move from Liverpool to Barcelona

Javier Mascherano has finalised his transfer from Liverpool to Barcelona after signing a four-year deal, the Spanish champions confirmed this evening. The 26-year-old midfielder's contract has a buy-out clause of €90m and he will take the No14 shirt, which was previously worn by Thierry Henry. "The truth is it's a dream, it's a great joy," Mascherano told Barça TV after a five-hour medical. "It is a great club with great players and I will try to adapt as quickly as I possibly can." The Argentina captain leaves Liverpool under a cloud after agitating for a move away from Anfield, an approach which angered manager Roy Hodgson. "I don't think players mean it as a challenge to your authority or the club's, but 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 are going to get their way," Hodgson said last week.