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Liverpool’s decision not to replace Luis Diaz last summer has been viewed as one of the key reasons behind their struggles this season.
The Colombian had been a big player during the Reds’ Premier League title win last term, racking up 13 goals and five assists in the division.
However, while Arne Slot may have ideally wished to keep Diaz, behind the scenes it was becoming clear that he was heading for the exit.
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Having been pushing for a new contract long before he left in 2025, Diaz was keen to be rewarded for his improvement at Liverpool. But he and the Reds simply could not get on the same page.
According to a new report from The Telegraph, though, this was not for a lack of trying. They claim that Liverpool were in fact weighing up whether to offer Diaz a truly astronomical new deal before letting him go.
Liverpool weighed up £400k-per-week Luis Diaz offer
While Liverpool supporters were disappointed to see Diaz go, there was also an acceptance that the £65.5m fee from Bayern was a good deal for all parties.
Since then, the 29-year-old has gone on to star with the German side, hitting 40 goal contributions in just 32 matches.
Photo by S. Mellar/FC Bayern via Getty Images
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That form goes some way to explaining why, according to The Telegraph, Liverpool were ‘contemplating’ paying Diaz something close to £400k-per-week.
It is claimed that the Reds had thought about paying Diaz similar wages to captain Virgil van Dijk in order to keep him at Anfield.
The money would reportedly have been seen as ‘back pay’ for the Colombia international being on a lower paid contract from his signing in January 2022 up until the summer of 2025.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
However, come last summer, talks were said to have stalled to the point where it was no longer ‘financially viable’ for the Liverpool owners to sanction such a deal. With talks going nowhere, Diaz was sold to Bayern.
Liverpool were right to sell Diaz
For those lamenting Liverpool’s decision to sell Diaz last year, perhaps this new information will force them to change their minds.
Maybe the Reds should have tied him down to a new contract in 2023 or 2024, but by 2025, there is simply no way they could have paid Diaz this kind of money.
The former No. 7 was a good player for Liverpool, but he was not a Van Dijk or Mohamed Salah. £400k-per-week would have been crazy.
Although they do have players on such high-value contracts, handing another out to a player such as Diaz would have broken the wage structure beyond repair.
Every starter would be asking for similar numbers when discussing their own contract extensions. That is just not feasible. Ultimately, Liverpool made the correct decision.
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