Lucas Leiva has paid tribute to Liverpool fans after sealing his move to Lazio.
The veteran midfielder leaves Anfield after 10 years for a switch to the Serie A giants, who had a £5 million offer accepted by the Reds last weekend.
Lucas completed his move to the Italian capital on Tuesday and admitted that the decision to leave Merseyside for a new challenge was an emotional wrench.
Writing a farewell letter to Liverpool supporters, the 30-year-old admitted that his switch to Lazio is bittersweet following 10 years in his adoptive city.
He wrote: “This is one of the greatest clubs in the world and my intention had always been to spend the rest of my career here.
“But the less I have been able to play, the more I have realised that I need to go to another club if I want to play as much as I possibly can.
“When you love a club and a city as much as I love Liverpool that isn’t an easy decision to come to.
“The easiest thing for me to do would be to stay here for as long as I can even if I do not expect to play so often.
“But that would go against everything that I believe in as a footballer and as a competitor.
“It is for that reason that I will be joining Lazio, which means my sadness at leaving Liverpool is accompanied by a real excitement that I will be representing one of Italy’s great clubs.”