Javier Mascherano appears to have found the perfect home in the form of Barcelona, as he continues to play an important role for the Catalan club even after several years.

Even though he has been deployed by several Barcelona managers as a central defender, he continues to play in the midfield for Argentina. At 31 years of age, he is one of the experienced members of the Barcelona team. After having won numerous accolades with the club, there has been the talk of Mascherano retiring at the Camp Nou. Several South American players have played for the Spanish club, but have chosen to end their careers back in their home country.

It appears that Mascherano will be the case of the same after the midfielder confirmed that he does not have the intention of retiring at Barcelona. One of the reasons for Mascherano’s decision is the high demands involved when it comes to playing for the club. Barcelona have been the most successful team in the last decade and this brings a lot of responsibilities like playing more than 60 games per season. Mascherano thinks that he will not be able to cope with the demands as he gets older. Such demands even forced even a club legend like Xavi out of the club and Mascherano expects the same.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen [on retiring at Barca].A time will come when my age won’t let me continue meeting the club’s demands. Playing 60 to 70 games a season isn’t easy.I’ll have to play for a team who are more in line with the demands I can meet physically. I’ll see how far I can go.I’m grateful to be here. The best years of my career were spent at Barcelona, but being here doesn’t allow you to relax,” said the midfielder.