Liverpool midfielder (or defender) Lucas Leiva gave an interview to ESPN Brasil on Friday.
The 29-year-old has been much congratulated for his ten years at the club, and spoke about how it feels to achieve this mark.
He revealed that he had the chance to leave Anfield during this summer, but is happy for staying after Liverpool decided he shouldn’t go anywhere.
“There really were a few exit opportunities, they ended up not happening, Liverpool didn’t feel comfortable to seal a deal. For the time I’ve been here, I respected the club and stayed for another year, for this season, starting my tenth season for the club, which is a very cool mark,” Lucas told ESPN Brasil.
Talking about Monday’s game against Manchester United, he said his favourite match against the rivals was the 4-1 win at Old Trafford in the 2008/09 season.
Asked about how it feels to work under Jurgen Klopp, the player said: “A season with Klopp is much different than any other season I had with other managers.
“My relationship with Klopp is very good, I have full confidence from him. Last year there were eight or nine months to know a little more about the way he wants the team to work.
“And this year, with a full pre-season with him and new signings, we started the Premier League very well. So we expect to be able to have a different year than last year in relation to titles, last year we got to two finals and we lost the two, and this year we expect it to be different.”
Lucas Leiva is clearly expecting to win things with Liverpool this season, and Klopp has given him the confidence to believe that. Remaining at Anfield was always likely to be the better option for the Brazilian, as long as Klopp had faith in his abilities and importance in the Liverpool squad.
