Spanish football champions Barcelona announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement with Liverpool “for the transfer of Javier Mascherano.”
Mascherano, 26, will fly into the Catalan capital this weekend to undergo medical checks and sign a four-year contract with Barca.
According to Spanish and English media reports, Barca will pay Liverpool around 22 million euros (27.96 million dollars) plus add-ons for the Argentina captain.
Barca has been looking for a defensive midfielder since selling Yaya Toure to Manchester City in July.
Mascherano is Barca’s third summer signing, following forward David Villa from Valencia and full-back Adriano from Sevilla.
In other Barca news, the Catalans are poised to sell striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to AC Milan, for around 40 million euros. The details of the deal are expected to be finalised on Friday.
Ibrahimovic, 28, appeared to realise last week that coach Pep Guardiola does not want him in his squad, despite his 21 goals last season.
