Post by Taxigirl on Nov 28, 2003 18:20:40 GMT
Bayer Leverkusen stopper Lucio has confirmed that he could be playing for Juventus next season.
The Brazilian international has been strongly associated with the Italian giants and a move to Turin could be on the horizon.
"I’m fascinated by Juventus," he told the ‘Tuttosport’ newspaper on Friday. "I feel ready to play for them and hungry for Champions’ League football."
Reports recently had suggested that the giant defender could move in January but he seems to have dismissed that possibility.
"I have my commitments to Bayer for now," he said. "I know that Chelsea are also keen but Juve have shown concrete interest. Anyhow, my future doesn’t depend just on me."
Lucio was already close to moving to Italy last summer when Roma had a £10m bid accepted by Bayer. However, Lucio rejected the switch.
"That book is now closed but I never said that I wanted to join Roma," the player wanted to underline.
"They claimed that I wanted to be paid as much as Francesco Totti but that is not the case at all.
"There is another reason why the deal fell through. They simply spoke badly of me because we couldn’t reach an agreement."
Meanwhile, Lucio could be joined in Italy by one of his former Leverkusen teammates in the form of Michael Ballack.
Reports suggest that Inter want the Bayern Munich star to run their midfield. The 27-year-old could be allowed to leave in January if the German side exit the Champions’ League.