Javier Mascherano, Barcelona’s 2013-2014 player of the year

This award is named after Aldo Rovira, a former club member who died in 2009 in a car accident and is decided each year for a jury filled with former football figures in Catalunya and Spain.

During the Ceremony, the current Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu alongside with Aldo Rovira’s father Josep Lluis Roviera had some words about the decision to award Javier Mascherano for all the efforts of the player during last season La Liga.

During the debate of the jury, there was quite some discussion at first, but when the name Mascherano came to the table, there was a unanimous response of all the jury members. 

This was a deserved prize and it’s an honor for Barcelona team to have a player like Mascherano, said president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Rovira added that the price to Mascherano was the right thing to do and it showed when he was named as a candidate for the Balon d’Or. He has a lot of virtues, and his commitment to the team is always a 100 percent, and this was from the beginning when he used his own money to come to this team.

Last words came from Mascherano himself and this was an honor and that he will tray to keep up during the rest of his years in Barcelona.

He was thankful for all the people that voted him and will try to do the things as well as they have until now with the same dedication and effort while being faithful to the club and his philosophy.

This is the first time that Mascherano wins this award, after three won by Leo Messi and Eric Abidal named winner for the 2011-12, a season after his battle with cancer.

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