‘He ruled against it’ – Former Everton chief slams Rafa Benitez for blocking signing of Liverpool star

Former Everton director of football Marcel Brands has claimed that Rafa Benitez blocked the club from signing Luis Diaz ahead of his move to Liverpool.

It’s fair to say that Benitez’s appointment as Everton boss in 2021 didn’t go down well with many fans due to his ties with their bitter rivals.

The Spaniard enjoyed a successful six-year spell at Liverpool between 2004 and 2010. During this stint, he helped the Premier League giants win the Champions League and FA Cup.

His time with Everton was dismal in comparison. Benitez was sacked after just six months in charge at Goodison Park with the Toffees in serious danger of relegation at the time.

Now, it seems that Benitez prevented Everton from signing Diaz – who has gone on to become one of Liverpool’s best players.

The Colombia international signed for the Reds for £37m in January 2022. He has gone on to make 61 appearances so far, scoring 15 goals and making nine assists in the process.

Diaz could have been a game-changer for Everton, who have gone through an incredibly turbulent period over the last few years – which only seems to be getting worse.

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Benitez ‘ruled against’ Everton signing Diaz

In an interview with Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld (via Diario AS), Brands, who was sporting director at Everton from 2018 to 2021, said that Benitez ‘ruled against’ the Toffees bringing in Diaz.

Everton came close to agreeing a deal with Porto to sign him in the summer of 2021, but negotiations ultimately collapsed on deadline day.

“I wanted to install my philosophy and structure in the Club that would allow Everton to progress, but the decisions from above did not allow it,” Brands said.

“In the summer of 2021, we were looking to bring Luis Diaz from Porto.

“I was working hard to get James Rodriguez to go to Porto as part of the deal that would bring Diaz to the Club, however, Rafa Benitez ruled against it because he was not sure about the player.”

As mentioned, Diaz has gone onto become an important player for Liverpool, and Jurgen Klopp could not be happier with him.

“I didn’t know how much he enjoys training,” Klopp said. “I had no idea. I’m not sure I ever saw anybody like that. I said before, he cannot stop smiling in training. It’s crazy. The rest, how quick he will adapt, I didn’t know that either.

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