"He has our full support. Rafa has shown his strong intent to do the right thing with us about the club.
"He has been a gentleman and we have had much better communication. He has my total backing. I have made that very clear."
Asked if he would endorse a proposal from Benitez to sign Mascherano, Hicks said: "Absolutely. We have never turned down Rafa's request for money for any player he has asked for.
We have funded his transfer request in January and were are already having conversations about things in the summer."
