Javier Alejandro Mascherano (; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. He made 147 appearances for the Argentina national team and is the most capped player in the country’s history. He won five La Liga championships, two UEFA Champions League titles, and two FIFA Club World Cups with Barcelona. He also twice won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, becoming the first male footballer to achieve this double feat since Hungarian defender Dezső Novák in 1968. He played for River Plate, Corinthians, Liverpool, and Barcelona before joining West Ham in 2006.
About Javier Mascherano in brief
Javier Alejandro Mascherano (; born 8 June 1984) is an Argentine retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or centre-back. He made 147 appearances for the Argentina national team and is the most capped player in the country’s history. He won five La Liga championships, two UEFA Champions League titles, and two FIFA Club World Cups, among other honours with Barcelona. He also twice won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, in 2004 and 2008, becoming the first male footballer to achieve this double feat since Hungarian defender Dezső Novák in 1968. In the summer of 2006, he joined West Ham United for an undisclosed fee along with teammate Carlos Tevez. He retired from football in 2018 after 15 years in the Premier League with the Hammers and four years with Brazilian side Corinthians. He has also represented Argentina at five Copa América tournaments, finishing runner-up in 2004, 2007, 2015, and 2016, and four FIFA World Cups. He holds an Italian passport due to his Italian ancestry. He is also a member of the Italian Football Federation’s Serie A and Serie A B teams, and is a former captain of Inter Milan, Inter, and Atletico Madrid. He played for River Plate, Corinthians, Liverpool, and Barcelona before joining West Ham in 2006. He was linked with Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruña, Barcelona, and Inter Milan during his time in Europe, but chose to sign for West Ham. He signed for Liverpool in 2007 for £18.
7 million. After three years playing for Liverpool, he moved to Barcelona in 2010, where he changed his position of defensive midfielder to full central defender. In 2013, he signed for Italian side Inter Milan for £8.5 million, but was released by the club in April. He then moved to Italian side Sampdoria for £4.5 million. He later played for Italian club Inter Milan in the Serie A, Serie B, and the Champions League. In 2014, he played for Serie A side AC Milan in a loan deal with a view to a permanent deal. He left Inter Milan at the end of the season, but returned to play for the Italian club in the summer. In January 2015, he left the club for a second time, this time for a fee of £3.5m. He currently plays for Italian Serie A club AC Milan, and has been linked with a number of other top clubs, including Real Madrid and Inter. He previously played for Brazilian club Corinthians, and won the Brazilian Série A championship with the team captained by his compatriot, Carlos tevez, in 2005. In September 2005, he suffered a stress fracture to his left foot causing him to miss the end the season. He returned in time for the Round of 16 tie againstRiver Plate, which Corinthians lost. In total, he was out of action for six months, only returning on 5 March 2006. In March 2006 he joined Corinthians in mid-season, but he was forced to start their 2006 Copa Libertadores.
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