Barcelona attempted to complete the signing of Luis Diaz from Liverpool this summer, prior to him sealing a move to Bayern Munich instead.
Diaz brought an end to his three-and-a-half-year stay at Anfield earlier this year, opting to join Bayern after failing to agree a contract extension at Anfield.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo [via Sport Witness], Barcelona sporting director Deco admitted that the Catalan giants attempted to bring the Colombian to the club.
“Looking at last season’s squad, we were missing something there. We thought Ansu would fill that role,” Deco said.
“He started preseason well, but then things didn’t go his way, and he also suffered injuries that made things very difficult for him. He could play on the left wing and as a number 9, providing those solutions. But we lacked that profile in the squad,” he said.
“Luis Díaz fit this, Rashford fit, and then it’s a matter of negotiation. On the other side, there’s a club, and they’re at a very high level. You’re talking about Liverpool and United.
“With Díaz, Liverpool were pretty tough from the first minute, refusing to sell him. It’s even more complicated that way, just like if they come to us and we don’t want to put a player on the market. Luis’s move, it turned out, would be impossible.”
Are Liverpool missing Diaz this season?
Diaz was always a slightly divisive figure at Liverpool, with some thinking he was elite – Jurgen Klopp called him “really special” – but others of the opinion that he was never quite a world-class footballer.
The Reds aren’t fully clicking in attack at the moment, with Cody Gakpo struggling for top form, so it could be argued that Diaz’s explosiveness is being missed.
That said, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak are still getting used to their new surroundings and should only improve, while Mohamed Salah should also find another gear, so it is important not to overreact.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it is easy to overrate Diaz because he is impressing at Bayern, and ultimately, Liverpool did the right thing in cashing in on a 28-year-old who had his limitations in the final third.
