Lucas Pezzini Leiva (born 9 January 1987), known as Lucas, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for English club Liverpool and the Brazil national team.
Lucas began his career as a box-to-box midfielder at Grêmio where he won the Campeonato Gaúcho in 2006 and 2007. In July 2007 he moved to Liverpool, where he developed into one of the league's premier defensive midfielders. Lucas has since made over 285 appearances for the club and won the League Cup in 2012. From 2010 to 2016 Lucas led the Premier League in tackles per game, five times in six seasons.
A full international since 2007, he has earned 24 caps and represented Brazil at the 2008 Olympics and 2011 Copa América, winning a bronze medal at the former. He also captained the under-20 team to victory in the 2007 South American Youth Championship
Born in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Lucas began his career at Grêmio as a box-to-box midfielder in 2005. The following year was a successful year for him, as Grêmio won the Rio Grande do Sul state championship (the Campeonato Gaúcho) for the first time since 2001, and also came third in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Lucas also became the youngest player ever to receive Placar magazine's Bola de Ouro (Golden Ball), given to the best player in the Campeonato Brasileiro – an honour previously won by the likes of Zico, Falcão, Careca, Alex, Romário, Robinho, Kaká and Carlos Tevez.