Luis Diaz's sale to Bayern Munich has proved controversial with some fans and pundits, but one Liverpool legend has defended the club's decision to offload the winger
James Findlater Content Editor
09:05, 09 Mar 2026
Luis Diaz of Bayern Munich looks on during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach at Allianz Arena on March 6, 2026 in Munich, Germany
Luis Diaz was sold by Liverpool to Bayern Munich last summer(Image: Getty Images)
Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has defended the club’s decision to offload Luis Diaz last summer, despite the transfer having come in for some criticism this season.
Diaz was sold to Bayern Munich in a deal worth around $87 million (€75M) as the Reds underwent a major overhaul following last season’s title triumph. That was despite the Colombia international playing a key role during Arne Slot’s first season in charge, having often operated as the No.9 in place of a misfiring Darwin Nunez.
Having targeted an exit from Anfield the previous year though, and with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike arriving, followed by Alexander Isak later in the window, Diaz would get his chance to move in a transfer that hasn’t gone down well with some as the season has progressed.
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Liverpool’s decision to sell the winger has come in for some criticism as the Reds have struggled, with some pundits suggesting the club misses the 29-year-old, although Steve Nicol sees the situation differently.
“I think you’re spending the money on Isak,” Nicol told ESPN. “You’re spending the money on Wirtz. You have [Cody] Gakpo, and you’re getting offered what? Nearly 70 million for a guy who’s 29 years old.
“I mean hindsight’s dead easy isn’t it. I’m thinking now, Diaz doing what he’s doing not just for Liverpool last year but what he’s doing for Bayern, but at the time it seemed like a very sensible and great business deal to get 70 million for a 29-year-old when you already have Gakpo, and then you bring in Wirtz and Isak.
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“So now there weren’t too many people complaining, let me put it that way. All the so-called experts, nobody said Liverpool are crazy, Liverpool are mad. Why are they doing this? Nobody said that at all.”
Slot has admitted to missing Diaz recently, although the Liverpool boss feels the club couldn’t have turned down the offer it received.
“You always miss good football players,” Slot said on Diaz last month. “He was so important for us last season, but he wasn’t the only one.
“There were more players that were influential in our results. But I think we have replaced them with very good players as well.
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot (R) talks with Liverpool's Colombian midfielder #07 Luis Diaz takes part in a training session, at the AXA training centre in Liverpool, north west England, on October 22, 2024, on the eve of their UEFA Champions League football match against RB Leipzig. (Photo by Peter POWELL / AFP) (Photo by PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arne Slot has admitted he misses Luis Diaz at Liverpool(Image: Afp)
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“It is maybe more fair to say that if Alex had been fit, would we have spoken about it then as well?"
Slot added: “Luis Diaz is another example of how this club is run. If this club gets, for a 28-year-old, an offer like that, then this club, because it is built on sustainability, chooses to sell a player and we are an exception in the Premier League, especially at the top of the Premier League, for that.
“But that is why it is also so nice that we are able to achieve the things we have achieved in the last few years with that model. But he is doing very well at Bayern and that is not a surprise to me.”