Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has addressed comments from Deco, after the Catalan club's sporting director said last week that the club 'likes' Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford.
Diaz has been linked with a move to Barcelona for some time after his father said that it would be the Colombian's dream to join the Nou Camp club.
The 28-year-old's contract is due to expire in 2027, so Liverpool is not under any immediate pressure to sell, but he is not indispensable and the Reds would surely have to consider selling up if they received a generous offer. Barca sporting director Deco name-checked Diaz as he addressed Barcelona's desire to sign a new winger during the upcoming summer transfer window.
"We like Luis Diaz, we like Rashford… and we like other wingers too," Deco said. "We can't talk about players under contract with other clubs."
Barcelona manager Flick addressed Deco's comments and gave a similarly deliberate response, insisting that he could not talk about players from other clubs... while naming players from other clubs who he wants to sign.
“This is what we have talked about with the club," Flick said. "In the last matches maybe we did not have a lot of options in that position [on the left wing]… so we have to bring more options to the team and more quality. This is the job from Deco, is clear, and I will support him.
“I don’t want to speak about players which are not in my team, but of course Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford are fantastic players. I like them and we’ll see what happens.”
It was reported earlier this month that Liverpool had planned to hold contract talks with Diaz in order to bring his salary in line with with its other top players.
Luis Diaz in action for Liverpool against Brighton
Luis Diaz has been linked with a summer move to Barcelona (Image: Getty Images)
Diaz is currently on the same terms that he agreed when he signed for the club in January 2022. As such, he's paid far less than some of Liverpool's biggest stars. But he has been an important player for Arne Slot's team this season and Sky Sports claimed that Liverpool was set to offer a deal that reflected his status.
According to Capology, Diaz currently earns £55,000 ($73,000) per week, which is significantly lower than players of a similar standing in the squad.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, and Federico Chiesa are all reported to earn more than double the amount that Diaz takes home, and Diaz could be forgiven for finding that galling given Chiesa has barely played all season and the Colombian has scored more goals than Gakpo, Nunez, and Jota.
Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr has also been linked with a move for Diaz, who has been at Liverpool for three-and-a-half years after joining from Porto in January of 2022.