Lucas Leiva announced his retirement from football after returning to his boyhood club, Gremio. The Brazilian outfit found a cardiac alteration after some tests were conducted on the former midfielder.
Although his career ended in the most dispiriting manner, Lucas had a career so many footballers would be proud of, and he should be too. The aim for every young fan is to play for the team they have supported their whole life, and this is exactly what Lucas did.
The tough-tackling defensive midfielder made his Gremio debut in 2005, and in doing so, he achieved a feat he no doubt would have dreamt of a million times over. His second season with the first team was successful for him, so much so that he generated interest from a host of European clubs.
It was Liverpool that landed Lucas' signature. Very few could have predicted just how much he would love his time on Merseyside and how adored he would be by the Kop. The player scored his first goal for the Reds in January 2008 when he curled a ball into the top corner of the Havant and Waterlooville net. The strike meant he was the first player from Brazil to score for Liverpool.
His performances in his first Liverpool season earned him a spot on Brazil's Olympic team. Lucas and his team mates put up a respectable run in Beijing, earning bronze medals for their efforts.
However, things began to take a turn for the worse once he returned, and the midfielder disappointed in the early part of the 2008/09 season with his displays in a red shirt. Rafael Benitez, however, was very quick to defend his player and praise his professionalism and ability as a player. Also praised were his leadership capabilities, as he had worn the armband for Gremio and the Youth Brazil sides.
In the next two seasons, Lucas became a regular and showed how determined he was as a character to bounce back from adversity. He was one of the first names on the team sheet for his side. He became reliable and showed some brilliant technical ability as well as his footballing brain. He earned praise from teammates, pundits, and fans, who sang his name in the Kop. Not many could have bounced back at a club like Liverpool, but Lucas was a strong and resilient figure who wasn't ready to let his time at Liverpool go to waste.
His improvement and growth were rewarded with a Liverpool player of the year award at the end of the 2010–11 season. This earned him a contract extension with the club.
By the time the 2011–12 season had started, Lucas was seen as a popular and much-loved player on the red half of Merseyside. His season was cut short after an injury against rival Chelsea in the League Cup, a competition Liverpool would go on to win.
He made his much-anticipated return the next season, where he featured in 26 Premier League games for Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool team. It was the 2013-14 season, and Lucas was in some of his best form in a Liverpool shirt as the Reds fought for the title. His season was, however, again cut short by injury.
It was not all doom and gloom though; he was called up to the Brazil squad again after his good form caught many eyes in South America.
Lucas remained a regular in the first team for another three seasons, completing 10 years at the club. He was given an award for his achievement in May 2017 by Kenny Dalglish. A former manager of Lucas and one of the best to ever don the red of Liverpool,
In the summer of 2017, Lucas switched Merseyside for the Italian capital after sealing a move to Lazio.
The popular midfielder made 346 appearances across his 10 years at the club. By the time he had finished up, he had fallen in love with the club and the city. To many, he was seen as an "adopted Scouser". To be loved by a fanbase as passionate as Liverpool's is an honor that very few can say they have achieved.
He was almost instantly loved at Lazio too. Many fans had awaited his arrival at the airport, and he continued to earn their respect and support across his 198 games for the club, in which he won three trophies.
Once his time in Italy was all but over, he returned to where it all started. Whilst Liverpool was a second home, Gremio was always his home and had been ever since he was a young boy growing up and dreaming of becoming a professional footballer.
He only managed 18 games on his second stint before health complications cut his career short.
Despite the bitter end, Lucas had a career he could look back on with a smile on his face and plenty of pride. He had two stints with the team he supported, something a handful of players achieve in modern football, and an even smaller amount can say they captained that team.
He was loved at every club he represented and is remembered fondly by their fans. No doubt he would be welcomed back to Anfield with open arms whenever he wanted to go visit his former home.
In his own unique way, he became a fan favorite, whether it was through YouTube videos posted by the Liverpool official account or his sheer passion and effort on the pitch. His comeback stories only made him stronger at times where it would have been easy to give up.
Former teammates such as Roberto Firmino have expressed just how much they loved playing with him and how professional he was off the pitch.
Lucas Leiva said goodbye to the beautiful game in heartbreaking circumstances, but he made a mark wherever he went, starting and ending exactly where he would have wanted to.
We wish him all the best in retirement and can't wait to see what's next for him!