Liverpool Fly Luis Diaz’s Parents to Merseyside for Christmas After Kidnapping Ordeal

Liverpool Fly Luis Diaz’s Parents to Merseyside for Christmas After Kidnapping Ordeal

Martin Moses
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
In this article:
English Premier League logo
ENG Premier League
England
  • Liverpool have flown Luis Diaz's family to Merseyside for the Christmas holidays
  • Diaz's parents were recently abducted by Colombian guerillas
  • They were in attendance in Barranquilla as their son scored twice against Brazil

Liverpool have flown Luis Diaz's parents to England to celebrate the Christmas festivities with their son following their gruesome kidnapping ordeal.

Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda were spotted arriving at the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool a few hours after watching their son star for Colombia in a World Cup qualifier game against Brazil.

Luis Diaz, Liverpool
Manuel Diaz, the father of Liverpool player Luis Diaz, arrives at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool on November 18. Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images.
Source: Getty Images

Marulanda, Diaz's mother, was released almost immediately after being kidnapped, but the senior Diaz was held captive for 13 days before the Colombian government brokered a deal with the ELN Guerilla group, as captured by AP News.

This is Anfield reports that Liverpool FC organised a chartered flight for Diaz's parents and extended family to fly to Merseyside as they continue dealing with the trauma occasioned by their ordeal.

Diaz was presumably absent as he will still need to line up for Nestor Lorenzo's side when they play Paraguay away on November 22.

How Diaz's father reacted to Colombia's goals

Sports Brief had earlier reported how Diaz put on a show for his parents and the rest of the Colombians at the Estadio Metropolitano in Barranquilla on November 17 with a quickfire brace against Brazil.

Brazil had taken an early lead through Gabriel Martinelli, who got his first international goal, but the two goals from Diaz enabled the Los Cafetaros to notch an important win over the five-time world champions.

Cameras panned to Diaz's father, who was in the stands, tears flowing freely. For a man who at one point had thought that he would never see his family again, watching his son score twice against such an opposition was too overwhelming to bear.

First pictures of Diaz's dad after release

Sports Brief also reported on the first images of Luis Diaz's father after he was rescued from an organised criminal group.

Before officially being released to reunite with his family, Diaz's father underwent a medical examination in the city of Valledupar.

On social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the user 'Pipe Sierra' shared an image of Diaz Senior alongside a catholic priest.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)