Former Liverpool player asks for contract to be terminated - ‘I won’t accept another penny’

Former Liverpool midfielder Luis Alberto says he has asked Lazio to rip up his contract, stating he will search for a new club in the summer.

The 31-year-old has been at the Italian club for eight years after leaving Anfield in 2016. His ill-fated three years at Anfield saw him make just 12 senior appearances, just two of them starts, amid loan spells to Malaga and Deportivo La Coruna.

Alberto has recently edged past 300 appearances for Lazio and will be remembered as one of the club’s longest-serving players. However, this has not been the goodbye season he would have envisaged with the club way off the Champions League places in Serie A and European qualification in the balance.

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Lazio lost the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final with Juventus earlier this month before succmbing to rivals Roma 1-0 last weekend. I Biancocelesti got back on track with a 4-1 win over Salernitana on Friday but time is running out for them to save their season.

Alberto, contracted until 2027, was asked about his future at the club post-match. “I don't know, but I know this is my last season here,” he told DAZN.

“I don't want to take another euro from Lazio, I have already asked for the contract to be terminated. I think the time has come to step aside."

Confirming his decision on Instagram, the Spaniard wrote: “I am grateful for the displays of affection, my relationship with the Lazio fans is excellent and it is only a matter of pride.

“I thank you for everything that they have done in my years at the club, especially to the boys from the Curva Nord and the Tribuna Tevere [stands in the Stadio Olympico] who have always supported me.

“I will always have you in my heart. I will continue to work hard and give my all on the pitch until the last minute of the last match as I always have."

Alberto was brought to Liverpool by Brendan Rodgers in 2013, with the club paying Sevilla £6m before he was sold on to Lazio for £4.2m. Speaking in 2020, Alberto admitted he “didn’t do everything necessary” to be a success at Anfield.