Lucas Leiva Reveals He Nearly Joined Inter While at Liverpool After Roberto Mancini Interest

Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has revealed that Roberto Mancini wanted to bring him to Inter whilst he was at Anfield, but the Reds just could not agree a deal.

The Brazilian spent 10 years with the Merseyside outfit, finally calling time on his stint there by joining Lazio over the summer. And if he is to be believed, he could have been in Italy for a much longer period if Liverpool were willing to let him go back then.

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The new Lazio man also claimed that Inter were also playing hardball over personal terms, which made a deal all the more difficult to reach.

“There is no one reason," he told Corriere dello Sport (H/T Inside Futbol). “For a transfer to happen, three or four things need to be done and then time was also a factor.

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“Mancini, when he was at Inter, wanted me. He knew me and I played many times against Manchester City during his tenure, but Liverpool and Inter could not reach an agreement. Even for me, some of the conditions were not fulfilled.”

Lucas has since made 13 appearances for Lazio, and is back to being an important player at a club after making just 12 starts in the Premier League for the Reds last season.

Lazio are also doing very well in the Italian top flight this season and are currently fourth on the table, just four points behind leaders Napoli, having won nine of their last 10 matches.