Liverpool veteran Lucas Leiva reveals he would have left Anfield had Javier Mascherano stayed

The going hasn't been easy for the Brazilian, with numerous 'highs and lows' over the years, but that hasn't stopped Lucas' stature at the club from growing with each passing season

Lucas is now Liverpool's longest-serving player (Getty)

Life at Liverpool has been quite an experience for Brazilian import Lucas Leiva. Since joining 10 years ago from Gremio, the midfielder has established himself as a prominent figure at Anfield. Not one for the technical, flashy creativity of his fellow South American team-mates, both past and present, Lucas has instead developed a reputation for his industrious work rate, hard-tackling and general tenacity on the pitch.

A constant presence at the club, it’s his longevity, and transformation into a Reds, that has ultimately come to define him. Indeed, the Brazilian is on course for a summer testimonial to mark his service to the club – the first Red to be granted one since Steven Gerrard left in 2013. The fact Liverpool has held just seven testimonials across the past 25 years just goes to show Lucas’ standing within at Anfield.

Even so, the going has been anything but easy - something Lucas readily admits. The 30-year-old has experienced plenty of hardships during his time, not all of which has proved conducive to his development. Numerous reports have linked the Brazilian with a move away from Anfield as he struggled to cement a permanent spot for himself in the starting XI. Like any player drifting in and out of a team, Lucas confesses that he seriously considered leaving the club over the years.

“Many times I went and had chance to leave,” he said in a recent interview with The Anfield Wrap. “Sometimes the club didn’t want me to leave, sometimes I didn’t want to go, but I always felt that there is something missing still. I thought if I leave like that it’s not the way I wish."

It was in 2010 though that Lucas faced his greatest crisis in a red shirt and contemplated walking away. After Roy Hodgson was appointed Liverpool manager, the then 23-year-old was rumoured to be on his way out as the new boss sought to overhaul the side. As he admits, his future hung in the balance as Javier Mascherano’s own position at the club became increasingly unclear.

“Always when a new manager comes in you doubt your future, you’re not sure,” Lucas added. “He comes in and brings his players. We had a lot of talk of Mascherano leaving.

“All the big players, Mascherano, [Fernando] Torres, wasn’t really happy, you could see in his [Torres] body language, we had a lot of problems off the field, with the owners. So I think everything started to affect.

“And then of course for me it was really hard because I didn’t know [my future] until Mascherano left. I knew that if Mascherano had stayed I probably would have to leave because there was no space for me. So he left and then I had to stay. [But] it was like if he goes ‘you stay’, if he stays, ‘you go’.”

Specifically, Lucas had the chance to join former manager Rafa Benitez who had moved on to Inter Milan. To make matters worse for him, the arrival of Christian Poulsen under Hodgson further clouded Lucas’ future and suggested he would have to come to terms with his ancillary role at the club.

“It felt really bad. But what can you do you know. And of course you had to judge the options you have. And I had an option to go… Rafa went to Inter Milan in that year and he tried to take me that year but because they were not sure with Mascherano they didn’t let me go.

“I always wanted to leave through the front door. It’s something that I am. I don’t like to fight. Sometimes you pay the price, and a few times I paid the price for not fighting and not going against the club.

Harry Kane and Lucas battle for the ball in the opening stages at Anfield (Getty)

“But you know it was a difficult start again [under Hodgson]. Because they bought [Christian] Poulsen and played. And I wasn’t evolved much. And of course we didn’t start very well and things started to change for me.”

But seven years have since passed and Lucas’ stature at Anfield has grown from strength to strength, even if he acknowledges he may not be revered as the club’s ‘favourite’ or ‘best’ player.

“Of course you want to win titles, to do many things. For me the most important thing is the respect you get from people. That’s how I feel. That’s how I feel people will look and remember me: a guy that had many ups and downs, not being the favourite or the best, but always tried, fought for the team, for the shirt.”

Watch the full one-hour interview with The Anfield Wrap here.