Lucas Leiva was a mainstay of the Liverpool team for 10 years and he has shared information on how he was convinced to sign for the club.
Speaking on the ‘We Are Liverpool’ podcast, the Brazilian said: “Rafa played a big part because I remember he called my father and said, ‘listen, we want to see if there is the possibility [to sign]’.
“I came to Liverpool about March and Liverpool was almost in the final of the Champions League that year, 2007. The season before I came and visited Melwood and then it’s easy to to accept and everything went quite quickly.
READ MORE: (Video) Gakpo’s on-pitch reaction to Trent’s winner; gives credit to new boots
“I signed officially in June but from March it was more or less done and it was the right choice, I would say now after spending 10 years at the club, I’m sure was the right choice.”
Although Rafa Benitez is often criticised for being a little cold with his players, this shows that he knew what to do in order to get someone to sign on the dotted line.
The small comment from the 36-year-old at the end shows why we all love him so much, as he is so proud to have played for the Reds and for so long.
You can view Lucas’ comments on signing for Liverpool (from 3:13) via Liverpool FC on YouTube: