There simply haven’t been many transfers that have shocked the footballing world as much as when West Ham United signed both Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
Long before they were established world stars, Tevez and Mascherano were highly rated young Argentina internationals playing for Corinthians.
They were linked with several top clubs after impressing at the 2006 World Cup, so it was a total surprise when West Ham signed Tevez and Mascherano.
Who would West Ham have to sign now for it to be as big of a shock as when we signed Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano? 😂
Please let us know how you felt about it at the time too! 👇
It was a controversial move largely shrouded in mystery, and it only really worked out for Tevez, who became a legend by helping steer the club away from relegation during his one season at the club.
Mascherano, meanwhile, struggled and only made a handful of appearances for the club.
Still, Marlon Harewood – who was in the Hammers squad at the time – has some fond memories.
Marlon Harewood hails Javier Mascherano
With all due respect to Harewood – a fine striker for the club across four years – he perhaps didn’t expect to be joined in east London by such talents at the time.
Tevez didn’t hit the ground running but ended the season with seven goals in 29 games, helping keep the Hammers in the Premier League.
However, and while Mascherano failed to convince before he joined Liverpool, Harewood still cites the former Barcelona defender as the best player he’s ever played alongside.
Speaking on the All Out Football Podcast, Harewood said: “There are so many players I’ve played with. No disrespect to anyone, Javier Mascherano was the best player I’ve played with.
“The distribution of this guy, the running, the everything, the touches where he was unbelievable. And then obviously went into Liverpool, then Barcelona at centre half at his size was is an absolute disgrace.”
Ironically, in the seven games that Harewood and Mascherano played together, West Ham lost every single one.
Who is West Ham’s greatest ever ‘one that got away’?
Why Javier Mascherano left West Ham so suddenly
While it is true that Mascherano struggled at West Ham, he simply didn’t make enough appearances to be judged fairly.
The fact he went on to win the lot at Barcelona while also leading Argentina to a World Cup final is fairly gutting from a West Ham perspective.
Having both Argentines firing on all cylinders at the same time would have been quite the sight to behold.
Still, West Ham sold Mascherano so quickly simply because he wanted to leave.
Still, it’s interesting to hear that players such as Harewood were impressed on the training pitch even despite his on-field struggles.
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