Mascherano sends critics back to Anfield

New Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has accused former club Liverpool of 'lies' following his move from England to Spain.

The Argentina captain finally completed his £18 million move to the Spanish champions last week, allegedly after refusing to play in the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.

However, the 26-year-old insisted that talk of him going on strike and that his family forced him to move to Spain was untrue, claiming the club spread lies about him.

He said: "When they started to involve my family and to say things that didn't make sense, I obviously suffered.

"They'd promised me something for a whole year and they never fulfilled their promise. And that didn't have anything to do with my family or anything else. When you read or hear lies, you obviously get angry."

Despite leaving Anfield under a cloud, Mascherano was full of praise for former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, who tried to lure him to his own new club Internazionale.

"Rafa taught me tactics," he said.

"He's one of the coaches who have taught me the most in my career and I'm very grateful to him.

"He was fundamental. He gave me the chance to join Liverpool. He had confidence in me at a time when, perhaps, nobody would have dreamed of giving me an opportunity. I'll be grateful to him all my life."