“So I was surprised to see the agent's comments today.

“He has a long contract and any club can forget about bidding for him. They can offer £40m or even £50m, we don’t want to sell.”

The recent worrying financial report about the level of Liverpool's debts has

encouraged clubs to consider bids for influential Anfield stars like Mascherano.

But it is becoming increasingly clear that the club’s American owners will win the battle to re-finance the loans they took out to buy the club in 2007.

The damaging accounts, for the year 2007-8, announced last week for Kop Holdings – the company the Americans set up to run Liverpool – showed a loss of £42.6million.

But now it is emerging Hicks and Gillett seem certain to confirm re-financing of their original £350million loans from the Royal Bank of Scotland and American bank Wachovia, which were due to run out on July 24.

A source close to the deal said yesterday: “The Royal Bank of Scotland are making all the right noises about refinancing the deal. Liverpool’s American owners will get what they want, at least in the short term.”

A possible extension, maybe for only six months, is being negotiated for a £3.5million arrangement fee plus interest of four per cent above banking rate. The deal is 75% from RBS and 25% from Wachovia.

But there seems to be no clearer picture of how the Americans will fund the £400million for the proposed new stadium or what happens at the end of the new arrangement.

The implication is Liverpool are being allowed to limp on by the banks, who have more pressing things to worry about.

Money is being made at Anfield because of the club’s constant involvement in the Champions League and the success on the pitch of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in Europe and the Premier League.