Report: Richard Hughes sanctioned one Liverpool exit in the summer against Arne Slot’s wishes | OneFootball

Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes reportedly sanctioned the sale of one Liverpool player in the summer despite Arne Slot wanting to keep him.

In the six months since the end of last season, a number of key figures in the Reds’ Premier League-winning squad of 2024/25 have left for pastures new, with some exits coming as more of a surprise than others.

Luis Diaz was among the most prominent departures, with the forward who scored 17 goals last term being sold to Bayern Munich for £65.5m (The Guardian) and already netting 11 times in 18 appearances for Vincent Kompany’s side.

Hughes overruled Slot on Luis Diaz sale

According to sources speaking to CaughtOffside, Hughes overruled Slot regarding the sale of the Colombian attacker four months ago, with the Dutchman describing it as a ‘sad day’ when the player left.

The Liverpool head coach didn’t want to lose the 28-year-old and had even been pushing for him to be handed a new contract, but the sporting director didn’t see the value in extending the winger’s deal and viewed the transfer offer from Bayern as ‘appealing’.

(Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

Hughes/Slot disagreement on Diaz sums up Liverpool disconnect

The complete contrast in views between Hughes and Slot regarding Diaz sums up the disconnect which appears to be rife at Anfield right now.

Of course it’s easy to be wise in hindsight, and in recent years Liverpool have generally been excellent at deciding the right time to sell a player, but it’s hard not to feel that the current Reds team could badly do with someone of the Colombian’s effervescence and scoring return.

Even when the goals weren’t quite flowing from our former no.7, he was never found wanting for effort and sheer will to win, commodities which should be a given for any player who pulls on the red shirt but appear to be lacking within the current group.

Some fans argued that Jurgen Klopp had too much of a say on transfers towards the end of his time at Anfield, and the hiring of the increasingly under-fire Slot as head coach rather than manager was deliberate as it restricted (whilst not completely nullifying) his influence on players coming to or leaving the club.

Hughes might have greater autonomy in that regard as sporting director, but that doesn’t mean he should automatically disregard the Dutchman’s opinions. If the man in the dugout was adamant that he wanted to keep Diaz, his view should’ve been at least considered seriously rather than being stubbornly overruled.

Alas, we can’t turn back the clock, so the powerbrokers at Liverpool will simply need to learn from what’s turning out to be an ill-judged decision and improve their level of collaboration when it comes to matters of such importance.

You can watch Slot’s full post-PSV press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: