Argentine footballer and former Barcelona star Javier Mascherano announced his retirement from football this weekend and whilst he is still held in the highest regard at the Camp Nou, he does hold one unwanted record.
Mascherano made a grand total of 334 appearances for the Catalan giants between 2010 and 2018 while his distinguished career also saw him win 147 international caps for Argentina.
However, his goalscoring record is one that was notably non-existent – he netted just one goal for the Blaugrana across his eight-year spell: a penalty kick against Osasuna in La Liga in April 2017.
As outlined by Twitter account LaLigaEnNúmeros, this goal was scored in his 194th match in La Liga – the eighth longest wait for a goal by an outfield player in the competition’s history, and the longest time for any Barcelona player.
Una curiosidad de Javier @Mascherano …
⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/fAb1Ljb9Gn— LaLigaEnNúmeros 🏠 (@laligaennumeros) November 16, 2020
Former Real Madrid player Gregorio Benito holds the longest record at 265 matches – one of only six players to have to wait over 200 matches to net their first goal in the division.
The experienced former Argentina international had also represented River Plate, Corinthians, West Ham, Liverpool, Hebei China Fortuna and Estudiantes during his extensive playing career.
