Javier Mascherano is confident of signing a permanent deal with Liverpool by the end of the week.
The midfielder is contracted to Liverpool until the end of the season after joining the Reds on an 18-month loan in the 2007 January transfer window.
But Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is determined to sign the Argentine on a permanent basis.
And Mascherano is hopeful a deal will be agreed with Media Sports Investments, who own the rights to the player.
“It’s not finished yet but I am hoping to stay here,” Mascherano told Liverpool’s official website .
“I have a lot of confidence that after the next week I will be able to say; ‘Everything is right and I am staying here in Liverpool.’
“We now need to wait. We are very close but we need to talk again next week.
“I think everything will be okay. I’ve waited a long time, so I can wait one week more.
“The fans like me and I love the fans. They are great and that’s the reason I want to stay here.”
