The two Argentines have faced off in a number of club matches over the years, in both Argentina and England, and Mascherano knows what to expect from his feisty compatriot, who he feels definitely has a big match temperament.
“We have played against each other during Boca v River games, during Manchester United v Liverpool,” Mascherano told Uefa.com.
“We have played together as well. Our paths in the beginning were quite similar but then he went to Manchester and I went to Liverpool.
“Of course, he is a top player, a magnificent centre-forward and, above all, a player who likes to win. He's made for these games.”
The 30-year-old feels the entire Juventus team will be tough to break down in Saturday’s Final.
“They have that Italian competitive edge,” he said. “It is always difficult to overcome that because they are very, very competitive. They are very tactical. They understand football and on top of that they have a lot of talent.
“It is not a traditional Italian team,” he continued. “They play like Italians but they have a lot of talent, they know how to attack and they can play in different ways. They have lots of variety and that makes them very difficult to play against.”