Luiz Diaz
LUIS DIAZ says he “fulfilled his duty” at Liverpool after completing a £65.5m move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The Colombia international has signed a four-year deal with the German club to bring his three-and-a-half-year stay at Anfield to an end.
The 28-year-old was left out of Liverpool’s pre-season match against AC Milan on Saturday because of speculation over his future.
Having rejected Bayern’s opening offer of £58.6m earlier this month, Liverpool accepted a follow-up bid of £65.5m over the weekend and gave Diaz permission to have a medical with the club.
The winger leaves the Reds as a Premier League champion, having won four pieces of major silverware during his time at the club, and says his exit would have been the “perfect goodbye” if not for the death of team-mate Diogo Jota earlier this month.
“I arrived with all the dreams in the world, and I am leaving proud of everything we achieved together,” Diaz wrote on Instagram.
“I have met incredible people, fabulous colleagues, coaches who helped me a lot, and extraordinary fans. Liverpool is, indeed, a special team, and I will keep everyone in my heart.
“It’s good to be leaving with the feeling of a duty fulfilled, and, most of all, to be leaving a champion. It would have been the perfect goodbye if we hadn’t lost one of ours in such a tragic way.
“I carry everyone with me in my heart, but one of them in particular: Diogo. I will never forget him. We will never forget him. Thank you for everything.”
Diaz joined Liverpool from Porto for an initial £37m in January 2022, scoring 41 goals in 148 appearances during his time at Anfield.
He won the FA Cup and EFL Cup during his opening season with the Reds, and was part of the side that lost to Real Madrid in the 2022 Champions League final.
Diaz enjoyed the most prolific season of his career last term, scoring 17 goals in all competitions as Liverpool won the Premier League.
The winger’s exit means Liverpool have made around £115m in player sales so far this summer.
That has helped to offset spending of around £270m on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.
BBC