Luis Diaz to spend Christmas with extended family as Liverpool pay for private plane to fly them into Merseyside: Reports

Liverpool have made a heartwarming gesture by flying in Luis Diaz's parents and extended family into the city to spend Christmas. This comes after the harrowing kidnapping experience the family suffered earlier this month.

Diaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda and father Luis Manuel were kidnapped by the National Liberation Army. While his mother was released early, his father was held captive for nearly two weeks before being released at the end of last week.

Luis Diaz was reunited with his parents when he traveled for international duty with Columbia last week. He capped off a difficult week with a great moment, scoring both goals in his nation's 2-1 win over Brazil in the World Cup qualifier on November 16.

However, as per reports from The Mirror, following the game, Liverpool organized a private jet to fly Luis Diaz's parents and other relatives to Merseyside to spend Christmas there. The player will join his family after Columbia's clash against Paraguay on Tuesday, November 21.

At the end of the match, Luis Diaz and Reds' teammate Alisson were seen sharing a warm embrace, with the former paying tribute to the latter in his post-game interview.

"Alisson is very happy, he is a great person. He accompanied me in the last 15 days, he is a great human being and he helped me get through this difficult moment."

Diaz then took a philosophical turn, expressing gratitude for the support he had from everyone. He then dedicated the win to the Columbian people.

"Thank God, we have gone through hard times, but like life, we deserved this victory because we have made a great process, not only us players, but also the coach. Dedicate the victory to the people.

"A war, to win you suffer and that's what happened. Life makes you strong and brave and I think that is football, and not just football but life."

Diaz will rejoin the Liverpool squad midway through next week as they gear up for their crunch clash against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on November 25.

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Liverpool forward Luis Diaz's father emotional after son's brace for Columbia

Despite the ordeal his family faced, Luis Diaz showed great character and courage to declare his availability for both club and country.

He started the game against Brazil on Wednesday and bagged an all-important brace as Columbia rallied to secure a 2-1 win.

His father, Luis Manuel, was seen celebrating with great relief as he could not hold back the tears seeing the Liverpool forward score a goal in such a crucial game for his country.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano shared the clip via his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Columbia will travel to face Paraguay in their next World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, November 22.

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