Barcelona sporting director Deco admits the club like Liverpool’s Diaz—but hints at a summer where fans may have to be content with few signings.
With the 2024-25 season winding down, Barcelona have once again been linked with a move for Liverpool’s Colombian international Luis Diaz, but some have questioned if the La Liga giants have the financial flexibility to make such a move make sense.
Barcelona’s financial issues in recent seasons have been well documented, with the registration of Dani Olmo a particularly contentious issue over the past 12 months, and spending big on a Diaz—who would improve but likely not radically alter their squad—could be hard to justify.
At least that feels as though it might be the main takeaway after sporting director Deco spoke to RAC 1 about their summer plans, admitting they admire Liverpool’s 28-year-old winger but saying his priority this summer is contract renewals for existing players.
“Talking about players who have contracts with other clubs is complicated,” Deco noted. “We like Luis, we like [Marcus] Rashford, we like other players. When we go to the market, there are names that we know could improve the team.
“But our priority is to strengthen what we have with renewals—Pedri, Gavi, [Ronald] Araujo, Raphinha, [Jules] Kounde. I understand that when people talk about signings, they always think about players coming from abroad, but for me, renewals are also signings.”
From the Liverpool end, Diaz has recently suggested he would be happy to extend his stay on Merseyside and there has been talk of a new contract, while more broadly the Reds have signalled that at the very least they won’t be looking to offload the winger.
The general consensus is that moving on Darwin Nuñez is the priority. There has also been speculation the injury-prone Diogo Jota could be set to leave the club. With potentially two forwards departing and Diaz clearly appreciated by manager Arne Slot, it would make sense that Liverpool would prefer to keep him.
A generous offer from Barcelona early that allows the reds to re-invest could obviously shift that equation, but if Deco and Barcelona’s focus is on contract renewals before perhaps seeking out bargains late in the window, they won’t be signing Diaz.
“After [the renewals], if the team can be improved, we will look,” Deco added. “From what we’ve seen this year, we need players with a different profile to what we have to help the strikers, and the composition of the squad will also depend on the market.”