Javier Mascherano revealed Lionel Messi has offered him the chance to take a penalty and score his first Barcelona goal but ‘obviously I said no.’
Mascherano has been a Barca player since a 2010 move from Liverpool but has yet to find the back of the net in more than 250 appearances, and told an interview with Argentina’s TyC Sports that Messi has suggested he take a spot kick to break his duck.
“Leo has offered it to me several times and obviously I said no. I honestly don’t feel like it,” the defender explained, Mundo Deportivo reports.
“I don’t like to force things and I don’t think it corresponds to me. The result shouldn’t change the obligations you have on the pitch.
“Whoever takes the penalties should take the penalties.”
Masche elaborated on Messi, acknowledging the forward’s versatility as one of his most impressive characteristics.
“Leo grew up in a certain way. In the end he’s so special, so different, that he adapts to anything,” Mascherano noted.
“When we thought he wouldn’t be a winger, he was a winger again. He’s a playmaker, a No 9, a scorer, he plays inside. He’s incomparable.”
