Javier Mascherano has been chosen as Barcelona’s player of the year, beating his Argentina captain and former World Player of the Year Lionel Messi to the title.
Mascherano was the standout performer during a difficult season for the Catalan club, showing versatility to play in central defence and in a deep midfield role.
Messi had won the award in three of the last four years, but relinquished the title for the 2013/14 season, the same season he lost the World Player of the Year title to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mascherano expressed his thanks for the award, as well as vowing to continue his form for the rest of the current campaign.
‘I thank all of you who voted for me to receive this prize,’ Mascherano told the club’s official website.
‘We’ll try to continue doing things as well as we have until now, with the same dedication while trying to stay faithful to what a club like this demands, which is a lot.’
The award is voted for by key members of the Catalan media as welll as top club officials, including the club’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who said Mascherano was the unanimous winner.
‘I was part of the jury that chose Javier Mascherano,’ said Bartomeu explained. ‘And I have to tell you, Javier, that there was quite some debate at first.
‘But when your name came up, the response was unanimous and so this a very well deserved prize.
‘It’s an honour for Barca to have a player like you.’
