Mascherano opened up on the saga in March 2021. Speaking to FourFourTwo he said: “Liverpool fans weren’t happy with me at all and I completely understood why.” Liverpool’s struggles at boardroom level in the mid 00s, a time when the club transitioned from the ownership of much maligned American duo Tom Hicks and George Gillett to John W. Henry, were notorious. They also had a huge effect on several of their star players. Just like his team-mate Fernando Torres, who would leave Liverpool at the start of 2011, Mascherano claimed the direction of the club was not aligned with his own, while he also wanted to leave the UK for family reasons. He added: “On the other hand, the board at the time had promised me something and weren’t keeping their word