Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the Colombia national team. Díaz began his professional career in the

Categoría Primera B Categoría Primera B, commonly referred to as Torneo BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is the second-division association football, football league in Colombia. The tournament was inaugura ...

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

, before moving to

Atlético Junior Club Deportivo Popular Junior F.C. S.A. (), commonly known as Junior de Barranquilla, by its old name Atlético Junior or simply as Junior, is a Colombian professional football team based in Barranquilla, capital of the department of Atlantic ...

, winning

Categoría Primera A The Categoría Primera A (), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is a professional association football league in Colombia and the highest level of the Colombian ...

, one

Copa Colombia The Copa Colombia (); officially known as Copa BetPlay Dimayor is an annual football tournament in Colombia. It is contested by the 36 professional clubs affiliated to the División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) and is the ...

and one

Superliga Colombiana The Superliga Colombiana (''Colombian Superleague''), officially known as Superliga BetPlay Dimayor due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay, is an official competition contested between the winners of the Apertura and Finalización t ...

. In 2019, he joined

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

for a reported fee of €7 million, winning two

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

titles, one

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

, and one

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

. After 14 goals in 18 league games in the first half of 2021–22, Liverpool signed him in a transfer worth €45 million (£37.5 million). He won the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in his first season, and was

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the latter final. Díaz made his senior international debut for

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in 2018. He has earned over 50 caps for his national team, helping them to a third-place finish at the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

in 2021, where he was also awarded the Golden Boot, and a runner-up finish in 2024.

Club career

Atlético Junior

Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda was born on 13 January 1997 in

Barrancas, La Guajira Barrancas is a town and municipality in the Colombian Departments of Colombia, Department of La Guajira Department, La Guajira. The municipality of Barrancas is located to the west of the Ranchería River in a valley between the Sierra Nevada de S ...

, and began playing football at the age of six. Nicknamed "Luchito", he attended a small football school run by his father. In 2014, at the age of 17, he attended an open trial hosted by

and impressed enough to join the youth team. He was included in Colombia's 22-man squad for the 2015 Copa Americana de Pueblos Indígenas, due to his

Wayuu The Wayuu (also Wayu, Wayú, Guajiro, Wahiro) are an Indigenous ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula in northernmost Colombia and northwest Venezuela. The Wayuu language is part of the Arawakan language family. Throughout their history, they ...

ethnicity. After impressing during the tournament, he joined the senior team of

in 2016, being immediately assigned to

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

. Given Díaz's slender build and a potentially

malnourished Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

appearance, he was given a dietary plan by Barranquilla to gain 10 kg. Díaz made his senior debut on 26 April 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1

home loss against

Deportivo Pereira Deportivo Pereira is a professional Colombian football team based in Pereira, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Hernán Ramírez Villegas stadium. History Early years While there are several am ...

. His first senior goal came on 14 May, as he scored the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of

Cúcuta Deportivo Cúcuta Deportivo Fútbol Club S. A. (Spanish ), commonly referred to as Cúcuta Deportivo, is a professional Colombian football club from the city of Cúcuta. Founded on 10 September 1924, it is one of the oldest active football clubs in the co ...

. On 6 June 2017, after already making his first team debut in the year's

, Díaz was subsequently promoted to Junior's main squad. He made his

debut on 27 August, replacing

Matías Mier Henry Matías Mier Codina (born 2 August 1990) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Liga 1 club Barito Putera. Club career Early career Mier began his career at Rentistas in 2007 and ...

in a 3–2 loss at

Once Caldas Once Caldas S.A., simply known as Once Caldas, is a professional Colombian Association football, football team based in Manizales, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. The club plays its home games at Estadio Palogrande. The club wa ...

, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 3–1

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

home win against

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

. Díaz became a regular starter during the 2018 season, and scored his first goal in the top tier on 4 February of that year, by netting the game's only in a home success over

Atlético Bucaramanga Club Atlético Bucaramanga S.A., better known as Atlético Bucaramanga, is a Colombian professional football team based in Bucaramanga. The club plays its home games at the Américo Montanini stadium. The club was founded on 11 May 1949 by Rafa ...

. He also added braces against

Atlético Huila Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian association football, football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded in 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. ...

and

Rionegro Águilas Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the city ...

, ending the campaign with 16 goals overall.

Porto

2019–2021: Development and adaptation to Portugal

On 10 July 2019, Díaz signed for

club

on a five-year contract, with the club buying 80% of his economic rights for a fee of €7 million.

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

had also wanted to sign him, but he was convinced otherwise by compatriot former Porto players

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...

and

James Rodríguez James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for Liga MX club Club León, León and Captain (associ ...

, as well as his then-national team coach

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football manager. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, Colombia, Egypt and Qatar, leading ...

. Díaz also admitted that prior to his Porto move, he had signed a pre-contract with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, but the move never materialised. He made his debut on 7 August in a 1–0 win at

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

first qualifying round first leg as a 55th-minute substitute for

Romário Baró Romário Manuel Silva Baró (born 25 January 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Swiss Super League club Basel, on loan from Porto. Born in Guinea-Bissau, Baró represented Portugal internationally at youth level. C ...

, and six days later in the return game he scored his first goal, albeit in a 3–2 loss at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

. Domestically, he made his

debut on 10 August in a 2–1 loss at

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

as a substitute, and a week later scored for the first to wrap up a 4–0 home win against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

as a starter. In November, he,

Mateus Uribe Andrés Mateus Uribe Villa (born 21 March 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Atlético Nacional and the Colombia national team. After coming through the ranks of Envigado's youth academy, Uribe m ...

, Agustín Marchesín and

Renzo Saravia Renzo Saravia (; born 16 June 1993) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a right back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Atlético Mineiro. Club career Early career Born in Villa de María del Río Seco in the interior of Córdoba Prov ...

were suspended from the derby against Boavista for having partied the night before. In his first season in Portugal, Díaz totalled 50 appearances and 14 goals as Porto won the league and the

. In the final of the latter on 1 August 2020, he was sent off after 38 minutes in a 2–1 win over Benfica at the

Estádio Cidade de Coimbra The Estádio Cidade de Coimbra (') is a stadium in Coimbra, Portugal. This stadium belongs to the Municipality of Coimbra and is mainly used by the Associação Académica de Coimbra - O.A.F., Académica de Coimbra's soccer, football team. The s ...

. On 21 October 2020, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 3–1 defeat against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the 2020–21 season. On 23 December, Díaz came on as a 77th-minute substitute for

Mehdi Taremi Mehdi Taremi (, ; born 18 July 1992) is an Iranian professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Serie A club Inter Milan and the Iran national football team, Iran national team. A late ...

in the

2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The 2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 42nd edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. It was played between the champions of the 2019–20 Primeira Liga and winners of the 2019–20 Taça de Portugal, FC Porto, Porto, and the runner ...

against ''

O Clássico O Clássico () is the name given in Association football, football to matches between Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and FC Porto. Originally, the term ''O Clássico'' only referred to games played in the Primeira Liga, league, but now tends to in ...

'' rivals Benfica, and scored to confirm a 2–0 win. The following 10 February, he was sent off in a 1–1 draw at

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

in a cup semi-final for unintentionally breaking

David Carmo David Mota Veiga Teixeira do Carmo (; born 19 July 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Nottingham Forest, and the Angola national team. He began his professional career at Braga, winning the Taça de Portug ...

's leg; compatriot Uribe was also dismissed.

2021–2022: Breakthrough and departure

On 11 September 2021, Díaz scored in a 1–1 away draw against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. On 9 October, he scored the only goal of a 1–0 Champions League group stage win over

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. With two goals in a 4–0 win over

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...

on 1 November, he reached five goals in his first six league games, best in the league; On 28 November, he scored his tenth, a long-range effort in the 2–1 victory over

; this goal earned him the Primeira Liga Goal of the Month award. His performances led to him being also named the league's Player of the Month and Forward of the Month for October and November. On 19 December, Díaz was named the league's Forward of the Month for the second consecutive month, after scoring four goals and providing three assists. Despite leaving Porto halfway through his final season, he was the joint seventh top scorer with 14 goals. Despite leaving Porto in January 2022, he was issued with a winner's medal after the club won the

2021–22 Primeira Liga The 2021–22 Liga Portugal (also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons) was the 88th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football Association football, more commonly known as f ...

title.

Liverpool

2022–2023: Adaptation to England and Champions League final

On 30 January 2022, Díaz signed a five-year contract at

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

for a reported €45 million (£37.5 million) with €15 million (£12.5 million) add-ons. Prior to signing for Liverpool, Díaz had attracted interest from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. Upon learning of Tottenham's bid, Liverpool changed their summer plans, and decided to sign Díaz on a permanent deal, after impressing Liverpool's then-manager

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

. He made his debut on 6 February, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute for Curtis Jones in an

fourth-round game at home to

. He assisted a goal by

Takumi Minamino is a Japanese professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), winger for Ligue 1 club AS Monaco FC, Monaco and the Japan national football team, Japan national team. Minam ...

in a 3–1 win. Thirteen days later, he scored his first goal for Liverpool in his second league start for the club in a 3–1 home win over

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

. In the 2022 EFL Cup final on 27 February, he played the first 97 minutes of a goalless draw with Chelsea that his team won on penalties. On 3 May, he scored the second goal in Liverpool's 3–2 away victory over

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

in the Champions League semi-final, to secure his team's place in the final. On 14 May, he started in the 2022 FA Cup final against Chelsea, which Liverpool won 6–5 on penalties after a goalless draw, with Diaz being replaced by

Roberto Firmino Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira (born 2 October 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli, which he captains. After starting his career with Figueiren ...

in the 98th minute, as he was named

. On 28 May, Díaz started in the 2022 Champions League final as Liverpool lost 1–0 to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. On 30 July 2022, Díaz started for Liverpool in the club's 3–1 win over

in the

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

at the

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attenti ...

. Diaz started the new months of the season by scoring four goals and providing three assists, including a brace in Liverpool's 9–0 win over

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth ( ) is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. ...

, which equalled the joint-largest win in the history of the Premier League. However, on 9 October, Díaz came off for Roberto Firmino in the 42nd minute of a game against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

due to an knee injury. After seven months on the sidelines, Díaz made his return from injury on 17 April, replacing

Cody Gakpo Cody Mathès Gakpo (; born 7 May 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left winger or forward for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. A PSV academy graduate, Gakpo made his first-team debut in February 2018 ...

in the 81st minute of a 6–1 away win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. Having not registered a goal since 7 September 2022, Díaz returned to scoring ways on 30 April 2023, scoring Liverpool's second goal in their 4–3 home win over Tottenham Hotspur.

2023–present

Díaz entered the 2023–24 season with a new shirt number, changing from 23 to 7. On 13 August, Díaz scored his first goal of the season as his side drew 1–1 against Chelsea in the Premier League. On 19 August, he scored an acrobatic volley in a 3–1 win against Bournemouth. On 30 September, Díaz scored against

in a Premier League away match, with the goal being disallowed by the linesman for being offside. VAR did not intervene on the decision after an "unusually quick" review. After the match, PGMOL admitted that the offside ruling was a "significant human error" and Díaz should have been awarded a goal. Liverpool lost the game 2–1. On 5 November, in the first match he played since the kidnapping of his parents, Díaz came on as a substitute and scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 1–1 Premier League draw away against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. On 24 January 2024, he scored a goal for Liverpool in the

semi-final against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

which sent Liverpool to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Díaz began the 2024–25 season with three goals in three league matches, including a brace at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in a 3–0 win against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 1 September 2024. His goal against Brentford on 25 August 2024 was named

BBC Goal of the Month The Goal of the Month is a monthly segment on BBC's ''Match of the Day'' television programme, in honour of the best goal scored each month. The segment has been featured on the programme since the 1970–71 season. Typically, a selection of ei ...

. On 5 November, he scored his first Champions League hat-trick in a 4–0 victory over

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. Liverpool won the

2024–25 Premier League The 2024–25 Premier League was the 33rd season of the Premier League and the 126th season of English football overall. Manchester City entered the season as four-time defending champions, but were dethroned by Liverpool, who emerged as P ...

, making Díaz the second Colombian to win the league after

Juan Cuadrado Juan Guillermo Cuadrado Bello (born 26 May 1988) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays for club Atalanta BC, Atalanta and the Colombia national football team, Colombia national team. He usually plays on the righ ...

, who won it with Chelsea in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

International career

After representing

at under-20 level in the

2017 South American U-20 Championship The 2017 South American Youth Football Championship (, ) was the 28th edition of the South American Youth Football Championship, a football competition for the under-20 national teams in South America organized by CONMEBOL. It was held in Ecuador f ...

, Díaz was called up to the full squad on 27 August 2018, for

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He made his full international debut on 11 September, replacing

in a 0–0 draw against the latter at the

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

. Díaz scored his first international goal on 26 March 2019, equalising in a 2–1 friendly loss away to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. He was part of

' 23-man squad for the

2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...

in Brazil. Díaz was included in Colombia's squad for the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

. On 23 June, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 first round loss to hosts

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with a bicycle kick, and on 6 July he scored their goal in a semi-final draw against Argentina, which ended in an Argentine victory following a penalty shoot-out. Three days later, he scored twice, including the match-winning goal, in a 3–2 victory over

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

in the third-place match. He ended as joint-top goalscorer of the tournament alongside

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. On 16 November 2023, Díaz scored both of Colombia's goals as they defeated Brazil 2–1 in what was the first time they had ever defeated the latter in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. On 21 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

. He would help his national team reach the

, where they lost 1–0 to Argentina after extra time.

Personal life

Díaz is of

and

Afro-Colombian Afro-Colombians (), also known as Black Colombians (), are Colombians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Colombia has one of the largest African diaspora, Afro-descendant populations in South America, with government ...

origin, making him the first indigenous Colombian to represent Colombia. His brother,

Jesús Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Act ...

, is also a professional footballer. In July 2023, Díaz got engaged to his girlfriend, Gera Ponce and they got married in June 2025. On 29 October 2023, Díaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda and father Luis Manuel "Mane" Díaz were kidnapped by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their hometown of Barrancas. His mother was rescued by police a day later, with a "major military search" announced to locate his father. Colombian President

Gustavo Petro Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...

stated that "all the public forces have been deployed" and the following day,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

William Rene Salamanca announced a reward of up to 200 million pesos for information on Díaz's father's whereabouts. Díaz was absent for Liverpool's following Premier League match against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, with his teammate

Diogo Jota Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (born 4 December 1996), known as Diogo Jota, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for club Liverpool and the Portugal national team. Jota is known for his clinical finis ...

holding up Díaz's shirt during a goal celebration. His father was released by the kidnappers on 9 November. In June 2024, leading up to the

, Díaz appeared on Colombian singer,

Ryan Castro Bryan David Castro Sosa (born 14 January 1994), known professionally as Ryan Castro, is a Colombian rapper, singer and songwriter from Bello, Antioquia. He achieved worldwide recognition for his songs "Quema", "Jordan", "Mujeriego", and "Monast ...

's song "EL RITMO QUE NOS UNE". He also appeared in the music video alongside Colombian national team teammates, James Rodriguez and Juan Fernando Quintero who also sang in the song.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Díaz goal.''

Honours

Atlético Junior *

: 2018 Finalización, 2019 Apertura *

: 2017 *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

runner-up:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Porto *

: 2019–20, 2021–22 *

: 2019–20 *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Liverpool *

: 2024–25 *

: 2021–22 *

: 2021–22, 2023–24; runner-up: 2024–25 *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Colombia *

runner-up: 2024 Individual * Copa América Golden Boot:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

(shared) *Copa América Team of the Tournament:

*Copa América Tournament Revelation: 2021 *Primeira Liga Player of the Month: October/November 2021 *Primeira Liga Player Fair-Play Prize:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

: August 2024

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Profile
at the Colombian Football Federation website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Luis 1997 births Living people People from La Guajira Department Colombian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Barranquilla F.C. footballers Atlético Junior footballers FC Porto players Liverpool F.C. players Categoría Primera B players Categoría Primera A players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Colombia men's under-20 international footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Colombia men's international footballers 2019 Copa América players 2021 Copa América players 2024 Copa América players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Colombian people of indigenous peoples descent Indigenous sportspeople of the Americas Wayuu people