Curious twist: Guardiola played key role in Díaz’s move to Bayern | OneFootball

With Luis Diaz, FC Bayern made one of the most spectacular transfers in the Bundesliga this summer. The Munich club transferred nearly 70 million euros to Liverpool FC to bring the Colombian winger to the Isar. The fact that the deal was even possible is ironically thanks to Manchester City.

As reported by the English Telegraph, Diaz already wanted to leave the Reds in the summer of 2024 – his target at the time: Manchester City. Liverpool reportedly even internally agreed to a transfer, but only under one condition: the Skyblues should include Julián Alvarez in the deal.

However, Pep Guardiola and the City bosses rejected exactly that. "We don't sell to direct competition," was reportedly the stance from the Etihad side. Consequently, Liverpool also blocked the move and did not let Diaz go. The result: the transfer fell through, and the winger stayed at Anfield for another year.

Ironically, City soon parted ways with Alvarez anyway – but not to Liverpool, rather to Atlético Madrid. Diaz, in turn, came into Bayern's sights a year later, and they seized their opportunity.

Bayern strikes – Liverpool invests record sums

Photo: IMAGO

The Munich club persistently maintained their interest and ultimately succeeded with a total package of up to 75 million euros. Diaz finally moved to Munich, where he is planned as the marquee signing for the offense.

Liverpool, in turn, used the funds saved from the uncompleted Diaz sale to embark on an unprecedented shopping spree in the summer of 2025. Besides Federico Chiesa, the club strengthened with three Bundesliga stars: Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Hugo Ekitiké. The crowning achievement was the record signing of Alexander Isak, who moved to Anfield for around 150 million euros.

According to the report, the English champion spent a total of around 500 million euros on new signings – a sum that impressively underscores the dimensions of the modern transfer market.

For Bayern, the realization remains that patience and persistence were rewarded. Without the transfer blockade between City and Liverpool, Diaz would probably never have landed in Munich.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.