Mascherano fears leaving Liverpool

Javier Mascherano says he may be forced to leave Liverpool.

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The loan agreement for the midfielder runs out this summer but owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are unwilling to spend £17million on a permanent deal.

Mascherano, who could face Wigan tonight, said: "I have done everything to stay but the owners have to decide if they want me.

"With the time that has passed, it will now be more difficult for me to stay here because I need to do something about my future.

"I have done everything to stay but now the owners have to decide if they want to buy me or not."

Ahead of the 0-0 draw at Manchester City, manager Rafa Benitez said Liverpool "needed to do everything perfectly from now on to win the title".

And they did not get off to the perfect start to the second half of the season with a dominant, but goal-shy, display at Eastlands.

The performance wasted the opportunity to make inroads on Manchester United, who had lost at West Ham a day earlier.

Benitez added: "Things are as they are, we tried to win and we created chances. If you cannot win, you must try and find the positives.

"And that is that we played well against a team that has a good record at home, and we deserved to win.

"We cannot think negatively but we cannot change the situation. Now we must think solely about beating Wigan. We need to win that game and keep on winning, and we can do that because the team is playing well.

"I don't look at the table too much, but we knew that the City game was an opportunity. And we have one more point."