Liverpool risk underpaid forward’s wrath by torching incredible Barcelona swap amid strict stance on his future

Liverpool are in no mood to sanction a heavily rumoured swap deal involving Barcelona and Luis Diaz, and instead have adopted a stern stance on his future, per a report.

Diaz, 26, was signed six months ahead of time in the winter window of 2022. Liverpool initially hoped to land the Colombian in the summer, though once Tottenham made efforts to sign the ex-Porto man in January, Liverpool sprung into action and secured an agreement worth an initial £37m.

Diaz has done a fine job of replacing Sadio Mane and is an automatic selection on the left side when fit.

However, according to the player’s father, Diaz actually dreams of turning out for Barcelona one day.

“It is true that Luis is a loyal Barcelona fan and it would be his dream to go there,” admitted the Liverpool forward’s father last week.

South American stars pining for a move to one of Spain’s big two is not a new concept. Real Madrid and Barcelona hold special appeal for many South American stars and that is something Liverpool have found out to their cost with Philippe Coutinho in the past.

Unsurprisingly, speculation of Diaz moving to Catalonia quickly whipped up on the back of Diaz senior’s comments.

Indeed, reports in Spain claimed a stunning swap that would see Diaz and Raphinha trade places was possible.

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Such a move would seem to have merit, with Liverpool potentially in need of a left-footed forward like Raphinha if Mohamed Salah is lured to Saudi Arabia in 2024.

According to ESPN, Al-Ittihad – the club who verbally offered £150m for Salah in the off-season – will bid again in January.

What’s more, Diaz remains on the contract he signed when leaving Porto nearly two years ago and is understood to earn just £55,000-a-week.

While that’s obviously not a small sum, it is in Premier League football terms, especially when learning Adrian pockets £60,000-a-week to be third-choice goalkeeper at Anfield.

A move to Barca could therefore have a financial incentive for Diaz too.

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Liverpool won’t sell Diaz to Barcelona… or anyone else

But according to Football Insider, talk of a Diaz-Raphinha swap being viable is wide of the mark. In fact, Liverpool have zero intention of offloading Diaz in any way, shape or form.

FI stated ‘Liverpool have no plans to sanction a swap deal which would see Luis Diaz join Barcelona and Raphinha head the other way’.

Furthermore, a ‘well-placed source’ has reportedly told the outlet ‘Liverpool would not entertain offers for the Colombia international’.

In other words, Diaz is simply not for sale.

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