Lucas Leiva: "Before signing with Lazio, I was close to Inter in 2016"

Speaking to the Gazzetta dello Sport, Leiva retraced some stages of his career, revealing that he was close to joining Inter before arriving at Lazio. “Twice. First to Napoli, in 2014: Benitez wanted me. And then to Inter, in 2016, the year before landing in Rome. For various reasons, the negotiations did not materialize.”

In the interview, Lucas Leiva also spoke about the current Lazio, led by Gattuso, expressing appreciation for the biancoceleste group. “This Lazio has a strong, united, carefree group. They entertain and have fun. And that’s something we also did with Simone Inzaghi: we were a family, strong and feared by everyone. And when a team manages to find this spirit, it can achieve great things.”

Regarding the potential of the current squad, the Brazilian did not hide his optimism: “If they continue like this, I have no doubts. The league is long and they have to stay on the right track, but maybe with a bit of luck with injuries they can compete until the end.”

Leiva then explained the secret of Inzaghi’s management during his time with the biancocelesti: “By creating relationships based on trust and respect. He created a positive environment by always being close to us and making even those who played less feel important.”