Lucas Leiva to leave Liverpool

The Premier League has revealed that midfielder Lucas Leiva has not been retained by Liverpool.

On Friday afternoon, the top flight released a list of retained players and scholars, but the long-serving Brazilian did not feature for the Merseyside giants.

Earlier this week, it had been reported that the 30-year-old was keen on a return to his homeland with Gremio and it now appears that the move will become official in the near future.

It was from Gremio that Liverpool signed Lucas in 2007 for £5m, and he has gone on to make 345 appearances in all competitions.

During that time, he won the League Cup in 2012 while a year earlier, he was named as the Liverpool Player of the Year.