According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, on Wednesday FC Barcelona approached Liverpool FC for Luis Diaz, an inquiry that the Reds turned down.
Ornstein says that “no appetite exists to trade a squad member who head coach Arne Slot is planning with for the 2025-26 season.” However, with no contract extension in the works, “the club would be happy to let Diaz see out his final 24 months”.
EXCL: Liverpool rebuff Barcelona approach to discuss signing Luis Diaz. #FCBarcelona made contact yesterday but #LFC clear not for sale. New contract unlikely so unless bids land to change stance 28yo stays even if it leads to free agency @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/AS7DbHz6ru
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 5, 2025
There are two ways you can take this reporting— Liverpool have genuinely done their homework on potential left-wingers and concluded that there isn’t anyone available who could come in and justify Diaz leaving. For all the qualms about his productivity in front of goal, it’s important to note that Lucho was the 2nd most productive attacker in terms of goals and assists last season.
Two, Liverpool are sending a clear message to Barcelona and other interested parties like the Saudi clubs... pay up or we won’t entertain it. While making it public that Diaz isn’t likely to get a new contract while also maintaining he isn’t for sale is funny, I don’t totally buy it.
To his credit, Diaz hasn’t issued any statements about wanting to leave, despite him and his wife posting vague farewell-ish messages on Instagram after winning the league. He’s on fairly low wages (55k) that he originally signed in 2022, and with this potentially being the last big contract he’ll sign, we may expect to see more of a push from his camp soon.