Liverpool

Liverpool's Luis Diaz begs kidnappers to release father "as soon as possible"

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 05 November 2023

Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz begs Colombian guerrilla group ELN to free his father after his parents were abducted at gunpoint in Barrancas last week.

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has publicly urged the National Liberation Army (ELN) to release his father Luis Manuel Diaz following last weekend's harrowing kidnapping.

The 26-year-old has endured a highly distressing period off the field after his parents were abducted at gunpoint in Barrancas last weekend, sparking a major search for the couple.

As Diaz sat out last weekend's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, where Diogo Jota held up a shirt in support of his teammate after scoring, the reassuring news broke that his mother had been rescued.

However, Diaz's father has not been freed over a week later, and the former Porto man was once again absent from the Reds' squad in Wednesday's 2-1 EFL Cup win over Bournemouth in the last 16.

Colombian authorities have since been negotiating Diaz senior's release with ELN, who were named as the culprits of the kidnapping last week, and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp confirmed that peace talks are heading in the right direction.

Liverpool's Diogo Jota holds up a Luis Diaz shirt after scoring their first goal on October 28, 2023 © Reuters

ELN also released a statement to local media confirming that the process to release Diaz's father had begun, and the Colombia international returned to action in Sunday's Premier League clash with Luton Town after a couple of days of training.

Diaz was unsurprisingly named on the bench at Kenilworth Road, where Tahith Chong's 80th-minute opener would seemingly prove decisive, but the South American was introduced in the dying embers and found the bottom corner with an injury-time header to steal a point for the Reds in a 1-1 draw.

Diaz lifted up his Liverpool jersey to reveal a message of support for his father during the celebrations, and Klopp paid tribute to the winger's "emotional" contribution at full time, albeit while admitting that the "real problem" was yet to be rectified.

Following Sunday's stalemate, Diaz implored ELN to free his father "immediately", saying in a statement: "Here's not the player speaking. Today's Lucho Díaz, the son of Luís Manuel Díaz. Mane, my dad, hard working man, family pillar... he's now kidnapped.

"I ask ELN to release my father as soon as possible. I also ask the international associations to work on that in order to guarantee his freedom.

Liverpool forward Luis Diaz on October 21, 2023 © Reuters

"Every second, every minute our anxiety grows. My mother, my brothers and I are desperate, anxious and have no words to describe what we are feeling. This suffering will only end when we have him home with us.

"I beg that they free him immediately, respecting his integrity and ending this painful wait. In the name of love and compassion we ask they reconsider their actions and allow us to have him back."

A reward of approximately £40,000 has been offered to anyone with any information about Luis Manuel Diaz's whereabouts, as the Colombian government continue their major military operation to free the Liverpool man's father.

Diaz has made 59 appearances for Liverpool since joining from Porto in the January 2022 transfer window, scoring 15 goals and providing nine assists in the process.