Liverpool fly Luis Diaz's family to England for Christmas

Liverpool has flown Luis Diaz’s family to Merseyside so they can spend the Christmas period together. The decision comes just days after Luis Manuel Diaz, the father of the star winger, was released by Colombian kidnappers. Diaz’s dad was held hostage for 12 long days before he was eventually freed. The player’s mother was also held captive as well, but was previously rescued after a few hours.

The Liverpool star was recently reunited with his parents during the current international break. Diaz traveled back to Colombia earlier this week to feature in two 2026 World Cup qualifiers for his native country. He was named in the starting lineup to face Brazil on Thursday and managed to score both goals for Colombia.

La Tricolor won the massive match thanks to the strikes by Diaz. The victory puts Colombia up to third in the CONMEBOL qualifying table, only behind Argentina and Uruguay. The top six teams in the final standings will automatically qualify for the tournament in the United States.

Liverpool paid for a private flight from Colombia to England for Diaz’s parents and extended family on Friday. The soccer star will, however, remain in South America for the time being. Colombia has one more match scheduled before the international break ends. Diaz and company is set to face Paraguay in another World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, November 21st. The winger will then travel back to Liverpool to reunite with his family and club teammates.

Diaz has been smash hit for Liverpool

The Colombian star arrived on Merseyside from Porto in a deal worth around $50 million in January of 2022. He was essentially brought in to eventually replace the outgoing Sadio Mane. The Senegal international departed for Bayern Munich in the following summer.

Although Diaz struggled with various setbacks, particular a significant knee injury, he has been an outstanding signing for the Reds. Nevertheless, the elder Diaz reportedly revealed that Liverpool is not his son’s “dream” club. Before making the trip to England, Diaz’s dad claimed that Luis is a Barcelona fan.

Winger’s father says there would be “no problem” if son transferred to Barca

“The truth is that I know very little about Barcelona at the moment. It is true that Luis is a loyal Barcelona fan and it would be his dream to go there,” Luis Manuel Diaz supposedly told Colombian TV channel Win Sports.

“So far I would like to thank Porto and Liverpool for the way they welcomed him and received him. Luis is a player who finds it easy to win over because of the way he is. Because of his humility, his work, his dedication, he is a very disciplined player, thank God.”

“There would be no problem if Luis came to Barcelona because it is a top team and one of the best in the world.”

Liverpool will likely brush off the comments. After all, manager Jurgen Klopp is thrilled to have Diaz in his team and the winger is currently under contract until 2027. Diaz has also regularly featured in Klopp’s starting lineup since arriving nearly two years ago. The Colombian started eight of nine Premier League matches during the current campaign before his parents were kidnapped.

Photo credit: IMAGO / PA Images : IMAGO / Photosport