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Liverpool attacker Luis Diaz has spoken about his dream of playing for a Spanish club in the future.
The Colombia international joined the Reds from FC Porto in the January transfer window for a fee of £37 million. He has been a revelation for manager Jurgen Klopp's side and has made the left flank his own, especially after Sadio Mane's departure to Bayern Munich this summer.
Diaz has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists in 38 games across competitions for his new club. He is currently sidelined with a knee injury but is expected to return to action once club football resumes in December.
Within a year of his stay on Merseyside, Diaz has handed Liverpool fans reason to worry about his future at the club. Speaking of his desire to represent a Spanish club in the future, the winger said (h/t Echo):
"I would like to play for a Spanish club that has always attracted my family's attention, but it is more of a childish dream."
He quickly spoke of his gratitude to the Reds for giving him a platform to showcase his ability to the world, and said:
"Now I only think about lifting trophies and making history with Liverpool, which is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I am very grateful for the opportunity they have given me."
Diaz, 25, still has more than four and a half years left on his contract at Anfield. But past examples of South American superstars, namely Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, would fill Reds fans with anxiety. The duo were lured away by Barcelona after bursting onto the scene with the Reds.
The pull of Barcelona and Real Madrid can be hard to resist, especially for players from South American countries that share cultural similarities with Spain. Colombia, for example, has Spanish as its most dominant language and Colombian players like James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao have featured for La Liga clubs.
Barcelona wanted to sign Luis Diaz before his transfer to Liverpool
The Reds famously beat Tottenham Hotspur to Diaz's signature in January, with the Lilywhites signing Dejan Kulusevski on an initial loan deal on deadline day after the setback.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently revealed that the Catalans were also jostling with the Merseyside club for his signature, but were distracted by other commitments.
He said at a recent press conference (h/t GOAL):
"At that time we had just landed at the club and Liverpool beat us to it, but we were considering bringing [Diaz] in. But we were in an economic situation that we had to resolve and reverse. Liverpool were ahead of us."
