Liverpool kommer att erbjuda Javier Mascherano ett nytt kontrakt, trots att han har tre år kvar på sitt nuvarande kontrakt med klubben.

Anledningen? Jo, Mascherano tjänar £30 000 i veckan nu och det är givetvis inte vettigt i en klubb där en del spelare tjänar upp emot fyra gånger mer än så.

Benitez gör ingen hemlighet av att man vill krita nytt med Mascherano: “I think now is the time to speak to Javier about a new contract. He still has a lot of time on the contract he signed, but I told him that once he came home from the national team then we would talk again.

“Mascherano became unsettled and I had to sit him down to explain that we didn’t want to sell him.

“I can understand why he wanted to listen to Barcelona because they are a top side, a club who won three titles last year. It was not an easy time for him.

“But he knew from the first day that we would not sell him. He is an important player for us.

“I showed him from the beginning how important, signing him from West Ham on loan and then buying him even after he went to the Olympics.”