We all know that a lack of finances means Barcelona will be restricted in the transfer market, but surely they won’t have to rely on bringing veteran players out of retirement.
They do have a real issue in defence due to their leader Gerard Pique going down with a long term injury, so this led to some reports in Spain suggesting that Javier Mascherano could be brought out of retirement to provide cover.
The Argentine picked up on these reports pretty quickly and it seems safe to say that this will not be happening:
Mascherano was always an interesting defender because he’s only 174cm tall so he lacked the height to deal with things in the air, but he was clever enough to adapt.
The problem is that he’s now retired and 36 years old so you have to think a diminutive defender with no pace is the last thing that Barca need just now.
He’s a legend at the club after winning multiple La Liga and Champions League titles, so it’s probably best that he stays in retirement and doesn’t sour that status with the fans by coming back as a shadow of his former self.
It does speak volumes about Barca’s lack of money just now, so maybe they’ll need to try Carles Puyol next…