Joan Laporta admits Barcelona were interested in signing Liverpool star

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that the club was interested in signing Luis Diaz at the start of the year and even spoke to the player’s agent about a potential transfer from Porto.

But ongoing financial problems and the fact that Liverpool were already at an advanced stage negotiating a deal saw them miss out on the Colombian winger.

Diaz had made his name in Europe during two and a half years at Porto and was in the form of his life midway through the 2021/22 campaign after 16 goals in 28 games in all competitions.

Liverpool moved quickly, also beating Manchester United to the punch in the process, to complete a final deal worth up to €60m with add-ons. Diaz then hit the ground running with his new club and has been lauded as another transfer home run by the Reds.

Barcelona did eventually land a new winger in the summer transfer window, agreeing to pay up to €67m for Raphinha, who by his own admission has struggled to perform at his best so far.

“Liverpool beat us to it,” Laporta is quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo in reference to Diaz.

“There was a time when we were considering signing him but we still had an economic situation that we had to resolve, to reverse, and they beat us to it.

“He's a great player and he belongs to Liverpool and I won't talk about this anymore but yes, I admit it, in the past, when he went from Porto to Liverpool, we had a conversation with his representative but Liverpool already had it very advanced.”