Roma agree Lucio fee

ROMA have agreed a fee for Brazilian defender Lucio, and will open negotiations with the player to bring him to Serie A.

Roma are believed to have offered Bayer Leverkusen in the region of ‚é¼15 million (£10 million) for the Brazil international as they look to put a disappointing season behind them.

Lucio and his agent are expected in Rome in the next day or so, with the player already having stated his desire to play for the Italian side.

Bayer confirmed that a bid had been accepted, but denied that another of their stars - Bernd Schneider -was involved in the deal.

Roma have been desperate to bring in new faces, with captain Francesco Totti hinting that he would consider his future with the club if they did not purchase top names this summer.

Lucio has recently suffered Confederations Cup misery, performing below capacity as Turkey knocked out the World Champions.

Meanwhile, Roma have added their statement to the growing row over non-payment of bonuses, insisting that they have had no official contact.