Lazio midfielder Lucas Leiva expressed his desire to return to Brazil in the future.
Speaking in an interview with Brazilian media outlet ESPN Brazil yesterday, the 34-year-old midfielder first spoke about a possible return to his homeland in the future.
I would like to, but in recent years I have been very careful when talking about it. In fact, the moment you say you want it, people think it is something that has to happen immediately.
And don’t forget that I am 34 years old. Many people might say that, at a certain point, I might not need to come back.
He then touched on the appointment of new coach Maurizio Sarri.
Now a new coach has arrived at Lazio. I’m learning new things and I’m very happy.
Finally, Leiva spoke about his plans for the future.
I have another year on my contract with Lazio.
I repeat, I’d like to go back to Brazil but it’s still difficult for me to plan. I don’t want to create any kind of expectation.
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The 34-year-old Leiva, who joined the Biancocelesti in 2017 from Liverpool, made 32 Serie A appearances last season under previous coach Simone Inzaghi, for a total of 2157 minutes.
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The former Liverpool man is likely to be a consistent feature in coach Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3 system, playing as a defensive midfielder behind Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, although the possible arrival of Bordeaux midfielder Toma Basic this summer may relegate him to a more secondary role.
Leiva averaged 2.95 tackles, 1.18 blocks and 1.90 interceptions per 90 minutes last season.