Lazio confirm Liverpool target Stefan de Vrij will leave for free this summer

Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has confirmed that Stefan de Vrij will leave the club in the summer, this after the breakdown of contract negotiations with the Dutch defender.

De Vrij has made just under 100 appearances for the Biancazzurri since joining from Feyenoord in 2014, playing a crucial role in Lazio’s steady rise to fourth in Serie A this season. The 26-year-old has under six months left on his current contract, however, and the club have failed to convince him to sign an extension.

‘There is a limit’

According to Football Italia, Tare said: “Lazio have withdrawn the proposal we made for a new contract to De Vrij. We are withdrawing for reasons that we will explain later on. It was a choice made after many months of negotiations, but there is also a limit to how things went.

“He has been an exemplary professional and we thank him for that as well as what he’ll do until the end of the season. He gave a lot to the club, just as we gave a great deal to him, but our paths will divide in June.”

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“It’s a matter of fairness,” Tare went on. “This is not the opportune time to give the reasons for this decision, but we had to give a response and we gave it this evening.

“It is better to look forward, as Lazio are a side who have grown in recent years and will continue to grow, because we certainly do not lack players.”

Liverpool target

Reportedly a target for Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City as well as Inter Milan, De Vrij should have no shortage of offers come the summer. “It’s not an issue of him agreeing terms with other clubs, but of being fair in negotiations,” Tare added.

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“We did things the right way, but things changed at the last moment. We no longer wish to continue along this path.”