Galatasaray have pulled out of the race to sign Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva according to sporting director Levent Nazifoglu.
“We are no longer pursuing Lucas Leiva, we will continue efforts to sign alternative names instead,” Nazifoglu was quoted as saying by Turkish-football.com.
The sporting director revealed yesterday that the Lions had given Lucas an additional 24 hours to make his decision after reaching an agreement with Liverpool.
Nazifoglu said: “We spoke with Lucas Leiva last night and he asked us for another day before making his decision,
“The situation will be clearer by tonight.”
Lucas has reportedly opted to remain and fight for his place at Liverpool despite currently recovering from a hamstring strain and being pushed down the pecking order in an already crowded midfield.
The 29-year-old is currently the longest serving player in the Liverpool squad having joined from Gremio nine years ago.
Lucas did make 40 appearances in all competitions last season but that was mainly down to Jordan Henderson being out injured for much of the season.
Galatasaray have also been closely linked with a move for Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and are expected to push for a loan move now that the Lucas deal has hit the rocks.
The Lions will not compete in European competition next season due to breaching FFP rules but will return next season should they qualify over the 2016-17 league campaign.
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