I play to win, not to enjoy: Barcelona's Javier​ Mascherano

Barcelona: FC Barcelona's Argentinian centre-back Javier Mascherano has admitted that he "suffers" playing football rather than enjoying it, and said that he is not one of those players who say "I go out on the pitch to enjoy myself".

In an interview published in the magazine 'Panenka', Mascherano said: "No, I don't go out to enjoy myself, I enjoy myself when I'm learning in training, but I don't enjoy the 90 minutes I spend out on the pitch during a game."

He added that when Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona coach and current Bayern Munich manager, told him that his only choice in order to play as a starter in the side was in center defence, he was aware that he needed him to learn, Efe reported.

Mascherano talked about his good relationship with Real Madrid head coach Rafael Benitez, who used to train him at Liverpool.