Lucio close to deal with Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, Decem Dec 18 (IANS): Former Brazil captain Lucio is close to sealing a deal with Brazilian club Sao Paulo as the 34-year-old rescinded his contract with Italian champions Juventus after failing to secure a first-team place.

The defender has already arranged a meeting with the Paulista club and could be announced officially as a Sao Paulo player next weekend. The player is due to arrive in the city Friday for negotiations, reports Xinhua.

Sao Paulo have long regarded Lucio as an ideal target. After the player’s contract with Milan based club Internazionale expired in June the Brazilian outfit attempted to sign him. But the player preferred to stay in Europe where he has enjoyed a successful career for over a decade.

Lucio played for two major German clubs, first arriving at Bayer Leverkusen from Brazilian club Internacional, before moving to European giants Bayern Munich.

From there, he transferred to Inter, winning the Champions League in 2010 and earning high accolades as one of the finest defenders in the world. His career has stalled somewhat at Juventus but a fresh challenge in Brazil awaits the experienced centre-half.

Lucio has also made 105 appearances for the Brazilian national side over 11 years, finally retiring from international football in 2011.