Yesterday, Javier Mascherano signed a new four-year contract, with the option of one additional season at Barcelona. Many fans may question this because Mascherano hasn't exactly been a hit at the club.
His red card against Elche on Sunday definitely didn't improve his standing with us fans, but he should be forgiven. Mascherano's primary problem is that he is always playing out of position at our club. If he can be played as a defensive midfielder, rather than as a centre back, like he played for Argentina in the World Cup, he can be considered amongst the best in the world. And, with Luis Enrique's arrival, coupled with Xavi's declining fitness, Mascherano should be allowed to make the position his own.
Sergio Busquets is good, but he's not as good as Mascherano. Last season, he was dribbled an average of 1.2 times per game and made an average of 2.6 tackles. He also averaged 1.8 interceptions per game, while committing 0.9 fouls per game and making 1.3 clearances.
Mascherano, on the other hand, dribbled a similar 1.3 times per game at the World Cup, made 4.3 tackles and 2.6 interceptions on average. He committed 1.4 fouls per game and made 1.9 clearances on average.
Busquets' passing accuracy was an incredible 92.5% last season and Mascherano's was 89.4% at the World Cup.
So, evidently, Busquets is a better player on the ball, but Mascherano is superior defensively. So, we need to decide whether we want a defensive midfielder that can break teams down in midfield or if we want one that builds up our own attacks. In my opinion, I think Rakitic and Iniesta are more than capable of creating chances by themselves in the midfield and Mascherano would do better than Busquets in adding defensive balance to our team.
Hopefully, his contract extension is a sign that Luis Enrique feels the same.
