Mascherano thrilled to sign extension
1 August 2012 09:32
Argentine international Javier Mascherano is delighted to have extended his Barcelona contract until 2016.
Mascherano had already reached an agreement over the new deal at the end of July, and he finalised the agreement by putting pen to paper on Tuesday.
"I am very happy that a club as big as this has offered to extend my contract," Mascherano was quoted as saying on the official Barca website.
"I can feel relaxed that as long as I do things well, I can stay here for many more years. Ending my playing days in a Barcelona shirt now depends on me and how I perform as a footballer."
The versatile midfielder went on to discuss his side's ambitions for the 2012/13 campaign, and he was clearly feeling positive about Barca's chances under new coach Tito Vilanova.
"We have high hopes. We're working very hard," he said.
"The leader is now Tito Vilanova and he will try to adapt his footballing tastes to the team, but the important thing is that, in most ways, it will be much the same as ever."
Mascherano, 28, joined Barcelona from Liverpool in August 2010 and has become an important member of the Catalan club's first team, unexpectedly filling in at centre-back under former coach Pep Guardiola.
