Forgotten Liverpool midfielder reveals retirement plan ahead of Champions League opener
Former Liverpool midfielder Luis Alberto has announced his intentions to return to his homeland of Spain when he leaves Lazio.
The 30-year-old signed for Brendan Rodgers' Reds in a £6.8m deal in 2013. He was a part of the squad that made an agonisingly close title push in the 2013-14 season, although he never actually started a league game that campaign.
Instead he made nine Premier League substitute cameos, played three times in cup competitions and once for the under-21s in a frustrating maiden year of Merseyside.
It resulted in a series of loans to Malaga and Deportivo La Coruna before Jurgen Klopp facilitated a permanent £6m exit to Lazio three years after his big move to England.
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Serie A is where the creative midfielder has remained since, racking up 267 appearances with 49 goals and 69 assists along the way for Lazio.
It was ultimately a move that benefitted all parties. The Spaniard went on to further his own career while his exit fee, partnered with the loan fee from Deportivo the previous year, meant Liverpool practically recouped the initial sum handed to Sevilla 10 years ago.
But now Alberto has been questioned about the longevity of his Lazio career as his contract inches closer to its 2025 expiry, by which time he would be 32.
Talking to the press on Monday ahead of his team's Champions League group stage opener against Atletico Madrid, he quipped: "Contract? I'm definitely leaving in December," before laughing off the statement.
"Jokes aside, I would like to finish my career in my country, but it depends on how I am physically."
So La Liga
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