Hodgson Criticises Selfish Mascherano

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has criticised Javier Mascherano as the Argentinean prepares to leave the club and join Spanish giants Barcelona.Liverpool accepted a bid for Mascherano from Barcelona this morning, having rejected a bid for the player from the Catalan club last weekend.Mascherano had been agitating for a move away from Anfield for some time and following Barcelona’s bid last weekend, the player was deemed as ‘not in the right frame of mind’ to face Manchester City at Eastlands on Monday night.

Mascherano’s attitude upset Hodgson and the 62-year old criticised the attitude of the departing midfielder and other players who fail to respect the terms of their contracts."It is not easy for me to defend the actions (of Mascherano) because professionals are paid to"These situations do occur unfortunately and we have to live with it."I don't think they (the players) mean it as a challenge to your authority or a challenge to the club's authority."It is just a selfish situation that they have got something they want to do and they just expect the club, and therefore you as one of the leaders of the club, to bow down and accept that they to do it."Unfortunately there are going to be periods of time when there will be some unpleasantness because players must also understand that when you sign contracts you sign contracts to play."If the club decide they are going to accept an offer for you and let you go that is one thing, but you run the risk the club might say 'I'm sorry, you've got the contract m sorry, and we aren't selling you so you are staying'."It doesn't bother me as a challenge to my authority it is just a fact of life."But it is a fact of life which gets exacerbated in a one-month period in January and between July and August when it is a time of year when a lot of people are trying to do their business."

Mascherano is said to have agreed personal terms with barcelona and is set to undergo a medical at the club in the next 24 hours.