Quotes from Javier Mascherano

Liverpool is a club where you need to be there to enjoy it. It's not worth owning Liverpool if you are going to always be 20,000 miles away.

I've always believed that training with great players makes you a better player.

I've always been a very passionate football supporter, and I used to watch the Champions League.

Even just a little bit of praise can weaken you.

I don't go out to enjoy myself: I enjoy myself when I'm learning in training, but I don't enjoy the 90 minutes I spend out on the pitch during a game.

Being the Barca coach is different to being the coach at another club because you have to adapt to the philosophy of the club. At other clubs, maybe you have the freedom to adapt the team to your way of thinking. Here, that's not the case.

I'm not a player that gets angry, especially not with coaches.

In football, 80% of the game is played in your head; the other 20% is physical and tactical.

The kudos and hierarchy of playing in the Premier League for a footballer is huge.

I remember my first Champions League final in 1996: Juventus-Ajax. That's the clearest memory from my childhood.

This is football: one day you win, one day you lose, and there's a very fine line between them.

When you are not winning games in a row, you don't have confidence, and it is difficult to show all the qualities that you have.

Before I came to Barcelona, I only thought about one facet of the game: destroying. My qualities were completely defensive, and I wouldn't take responsibility for organising my team's game, our attacks.

Playing in England was a fantastic experience. In Liverpool, I felt at home and really, thoroughly enjoyed it.

I didn't have the chance to play at West Ham, but in football, you always have a chance. When I went to Liverpool, I had the chance to show my quality.

Throughout all my career, I have been an honest person, responsible, and respectful of my team-mates and the clubs that I have played for and the countries I have lived in.

My feeling for Liverpool does not mean I'm tied to them.

One lives every World Cup differently, mostly because one's age changes.

The Champions League was something very distant for us. I grew up in a very small town with 50,000 inhabitants, and it was a way of being able to watch my idols or people I admired play football on television.

When I couldn't play at West Ham, I kept my mentality, and I went to train every day to be a better player.

One day I won't play for Barcelona. I'll go and play somewhere else, and I'm sure I'll do so as a central midfielder. That's what I'll try to do because it's the position I like.

I lived three unforgettable years with Liverpool. I will always be grateful for everything to the club and, especially, the fans. From day one, they behaved impeccably and were amazing.

In my position, I've always admired Claude Makelele. I grew up watching him play. I was able to play against him in the final stages of his career. I have always liked his way of playing football, and given my position and style, he's been a mirror to compare myself against.

Honestly, after five, six months, I thought it was unlikely I'd be here long: my characteristics seemed to go against everything Barcelona stood for.