Mascherano: former Barça star signs on at Estudiantes

Javier Mascherano will make an emotional return to Argentinean football 14 years after arriving in England at West Ham as part of a now infamous double deal including Carlos Tévez after reaching an agreement to join Estudiantes de La Plata.

The 35-year-old former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder-cum-defender started his career at River Plate before moving to Corinthians but enjoyed his most successful spell at Camp Nou, scooping up five Liga titles, five Copas del Rey and two Champions Leagues. At international level Mascherano played 147 times for Argentina before retiring last year, making him the Albiceleste’s most-capped player in history ahead of Javier Zanetti.

Mascherano back in Argentina

Juan Sebastián Verón’s Estudiantes announced the deal on Saturday after the former Manchester United and Chelsea player travelled to Beijing to wrap up the agreement with Hebei China Fortune, who had signed Mascherano from Barça in January 2018.

Unlike several foreign imports, notably his old teammate Tévez, Mascherano took to the Chinese Super League like a duck to water, chalking up 27 games in his first season and starting 26 of 28 fixtures in all competitions so far in 2019.