Brazil international Lucas Leiva has admitted that it was the toughest decision of his life to part ways with Liverpool but he had to make the decision for the betterment of his professional career. Speaking to Four Four Two, the former Gremio graduate highlighted the passion from the Reds’ supporters towards him and cited he would always have affection towards the club despite his exit.

He said:“Yes, that’s for sure. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, but I believe it was the best for me. Life is made of cycles, and I came to the conclusion that my time at the club had come to an end. But my affection for the club and fans will remain forever. I get lots of nice messages from them. I really do have this special feeling for Liverpool and the fans – it’s something that will never change.”

Leiva left the Reds for Lazio during the summer of 2017 and he has since become a regular for the Serie A club, who came within a whisker of Champions League qualification. Lazio appeared to have the qualities to make the top-four until the final game where a defeat to Inter Milan ensured that their opponents qualified for the elite competition via the head-to-head record.

Meanwhile, Liverpool have progressed immensely since the departure of Leiva and this witnessed them reach the Champions League final last season. Jurgen Klopp has since added the likes of Fabinho and Naby Keita to bolster the midfield further and upcoming campaign promises to be an exciting one with the club possessing one of the strongest squads in the Premier League.

The attack was their strength during the previous campaign with the trident of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino contributed more than 90 goals between them during the previous campaign and a similar run of form could transform them into genuine title challengers next season.