Liverpool would have once feared the lure of La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
After all, they were helpless to prevent Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso from departing to become Galacticos, while Javier Mascherano, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho would all trade Anfield for Camp Nou. But since the Brazilian joined Barcelona in a club-record £142m switch in January 2018, there has been a power shift at the top of European football. The Premier League has usurped La Liga as the place to be.
Sure, Real Madrid have twice won the Champions League in the past six years, both coming at Liverpool’s expense, but they are well-aware they are no longer the continent’s moneybags overlords. Meanwhile, Barcelona, while still competing at the top of Spanish football, continue to be a mess financially, making the most of Bosman transfers and buy-back clauses to be a pale imitation of their previous legendary sides.
And while the Reds might not always be able to compete financially with the likes of Real Madrid, having won every major honour under Jurgen Klopp since 2018, they are no longer a European feeder club either. Consequently, comments from Luis Diaz’s father this week regarding his son’s future could have prompted a rather nonchalant response back at Anfield.
“The truth is that I know very little about Barcelona at the moment,” Luis Manuel Diaz told Win Sports, quoted by Noticias RCN, having been rescued from kidnappers earlier this month.
“It is true that Luis is a loyal Barcelona fan and it would be his dream to go there… There would be no problem if Luis came to Barcelona because it is a top team and one of the best in the world.” In truth, it is not a surprise that Barcelona could be a ‘dream’ move for Diaz. It has been, is, and will continue to be so for countless South Americans players, with the previous Liverpool exits of Mascherano, Suarez and Coutinho all proving as such.
In the past, such quotes would have been interpreted as the start of a fight to keep a world class club asset. But the Reds no longer dread the phone call from Camp Nou as they once did.
The Catalans are not the force they once were and money is certainly no longer no object. They would struggle to finance a deal for an under-contract Diaz, especially if Liverpool had no desire to sell. But even in a scenario where the Reds would consider cashing in, the club-record deal they received when selling Coutinho to Barcelona ensures they are no pushovers and will not be bullied. Meanwhile, having successfully replaced club legends Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino with Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, Liverpool bosses would have every reason to feel confident their recruitment team could deliver accordingly again if, hypothetically, the Colombian’s head was turned.
After initially fighting to retain Coutinho’s services in the summer of 2017, Klopp famously declared: “Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour. Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.”
Diaz, and any other player at Anfield, does not need to be sold the same pitch. Liverpool’s record since selling the Brazilian, along with the fates of so many departing players under Klopp, speaks for itself. These days, once you leave the Reds, the only way is down.
