Lucas Leiva’s time at Anfield has been dwindling down since the start of the season and it seems that the Brazilian is finally set to leave the club after a decade. While Inter Milan were leading the race to sign the former Gremio man, he could be going back home to Brazil according to reports.

O Tempo (via Liverpool Echo) states that the defensive midfielder could be joining Atletico Mineiro, as the Brazilian club would be looking to take Lucas back to Brazil should he fail to make a move to a top European club. The Inter Milan deal does seem to be off the table now and even Galatasaray, who were linked with a move for the midfielder, aren’t in the running at the moment.

Lucas was expected to move to the Turkish giants in the summer but Jurgen Klopp kept hold of the midfielder as his team lacked cover. The Brazilian hasn’t really played a lot of games this season and has been mostly used as a central defender.

The Brazilian hasn’t complained about the lack of playing time a lot but surely any professional would want to play as many games as they can since the career of a sportsperson is short.

Home is where the heart is

While Lucas could easily turn out for some of the top clubs in Europe, playing in Brazil isn’t the worst option for him and it will be a bit of a full circle for the former Gremio man. The 30-year-old would find the playing level in Brazil a little easier to deal with and he could even end up winning another title or two.

Lucas has only won the League Cup during his 10-year spell at the club and that in itself shows what has been lacking at the club. No one can blame the Brazilian for not performing on the pitch as he has always given more than 100% whenever asked to put on the shirt of the Reds.

This would also close a chapter for the Liverpool team as Lucas is the longest serving player from the current squad. The days of Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are long gone and this will lead to a set of new legends being formed.

Lucas was a thorough professional and the least the club could do is hold a testimonial for a player that was always there for the club. He might be leaving the club now to continue his playing career but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he does come back later in some sort of coaching capacity.