Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano has paid tribute to outgoing manager Pep Guardiola as his former assistant Tito Vilanova takes charge at the club.

Mascherano, who arrived at Barcelona in 2010, credits Guardiola for the team's success over the last several seasons. However, he admits that he is looking forward to seeing Vilanova continue to lead the club in the right direction.

"I think that the person who's responsible for this is Guardiola," he said. "But, behind Guardiola there are people doing a great job like Tito.

"Now he gets to take over the team and what we've done over the past four seasons keeps going for a longer time."

Guardiola leaves the Camp Nou after taking charge in 2008.