BARCELONA — Barcelona confirmed Tuesday that defender Javier Mascherano will leave the club this month, with Spanish media reporting the Argentinian is heading to Hebei China Fortune.

The Catalan giants said the 33-year-old would be given an official farewell Wednesday and say goodbye to fans at Thursday's Copa del Rey quarterfinal, second leg against Espanyol.

"Javier Mascherano is leaving FC Barcelona after seven and a half seasons," the club said on their website.

The five-time European champion did not specify where Mascherano was going, but Barcelona sports paper El Mundo Deportivo reported that he will "this Friday become part of the squad of his new club Hebei China Fortune who are doing their pre-season in Marbella (in southern Spain)".

In December, Sport, another Catalan daily, said that Hebei had reached a deal to sign the Argentina international from Barca for 10 million euros ($12.2 million), conditional on the Spanish club plugging the gap, which they did by signing Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina.

Mascherano arrived from Liverpool in August 2010 and won four La Liga titles, four Copas del Rey, two Champions Leagues and two Club World Cups and only scored a single goal from 334 appearances, when his team-mates pushed him to take a penalty during a 7-1 rout of Osasuna in April 2017.

Only two non-Spaniards, Lionel Messi and Dani Alves, have played more games for Barcelona. — AFP