Anfield Red

Rafael Benitez spoke of his delight today after finally completing the transfer of Javier Mascherano.

Benitez made no secret of wanting to keep Mascherano at Anfield after being on loan at the club, and today Liverpool announced the deal much to the delight of Rafa: "We must be really pleased with the situation now,"

"He has been a key player for us since he has been here and now we know he can be a key player in our future.

"From the start we knew Javier was a player with quality and a fantastic mentality. We knew the player when he was in the reserves at River Plate but was playing for the senior national team and we had been monitoring his career since then.

"He is young but he has great experience having played for his country. We knew he would be a good signing for us.

"It's clear that he is one of the best midfielders in the world but he can get better with us. We now have a lot of good options in the centre of midfield and that's good news for the club. "