Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Colombia national team.
Diaz began his professional career in the Colombian Second Division at Barranquilla, before moving to Junior, winning Categoría Primera A, one Copa Colombia and one Superliga Colombiana. In 2019, he joined Porto for a reported fee of €7 million, winning a Primeira Liga title, one Taça de Portugal, and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, while being part of the squad that won a domestic double in 2020. After 14 league goals in 18 league games in his third half-season, his goalscoring performances sparked the interest of several English clubs, with Liverpool signing him in 2022 for a transfer worth €45 million (£37,5 million).
Díaz made his senior international debut for Colombia in 2018. He has made over 30 caps for his country, helping the national team to a third-place finish at the 2021 Copa America, being awarded the Golden Boot as joint top goalscorer of the tournament alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Early Life and Career
Díaz was born in Barrancas, La Guajira, Colombia and was included in Colombia’s 22-man squad for the 2015 Copa Americana de Pueblos Indígenas, due to his Wayuu ethnicity. After impressing during the tournament, he joined Atlético Junior in 2016 after a trial period, being immediately assigned to farm team Barranquilla FC. Díaz suffered from malnutrition – an endemic crisis for the Wayuu people – and was given a diet 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 Categoría Primera B home loss against Deportivo Pereira. His first senior goal came on 14 May, as he scored the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of Cúcuta Deportivo.
On 6 June 2017, after already making his first team debut in the year’s Copa Colombia, Díaz was definitely promoted to Junior’s main squad. He made his Categoría Primera A debut on 27 August, replacing Matías Mier in a 3–2 loss at Once Caldas, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 3–1 Copa Sudamericana home win against Cerro Porteño.
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. He also added braces against Once Caldas, Atlético Huila and Rionegro Águilas, ending the campaign with 16 goals overall.
On 10 July 2019, Díaz signed for Portuguese club FC Porto on a five-year contract, with the club buying 80% of his economic rights for a fee of €7 million. Zenit Saint Petersburg had also wanted to sign him, but he was convinced by compatriot former Porto players Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez, as well as his national coach Carlos Queiroz, a Portuguese.
Díaz made his debut on 7 August in a 1–0 win at Krasnodar in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round first leg as a 55th-minute substitute for Romário Baró, and six days later in the return game he scored his first goal, albeit in a 3–2 loss at the Estádio do Dragão. Domestically, he made his Primeira Liga debut on 10 August in a 2–1 loss at Gil Vicente as a substitute, and a week later scored for the first to wrap up a 4–0 home win against Vitória de Guimarães as a starter. In November, he, Mateus Uribe, Agustín Marchesín and Renzo Saravia 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 Taça de Portugal. 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. On 21 October 2020, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal on his debut in a 1–3 defeat against Manchester City in the 2020–21 season.
On 23 December, Díaz came on as a 77th-minute substitute for Mehdi Taremi in the 2020 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira against O Clássico 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 in a cup semi-final for unintentionally breaking David Carmo’s leg; compatriot Uribe was also dismissed.
On 11 September 2021, Díaz in a 1–1 away draw against rivals Sporting CP. On 9 October, he scored the only goal of a 1–0 UEFA Champions League group stage win over A.C. Milan.
With two goals in a 4–0 win over Moreirense on 1 November, he reached five goals in his first six league games, best in the league; 27 days later he scored his tenth, a long-range effort in the 2–1 victory over Vitória de Guimarães; 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 December 19, Diaz was named the league’s Forward of the Month for the second consecutive month, after scoring four goals and providing three assists during that month.
On 30 January 2022, while on international duty for Colombia in Argentina, Díaz signed for Premier League club Liverpool for a reported €45 million (£37.5 million) with €15 million (£12.5 million) with add-ons, subject to the successful granting of a work permit and international clearance, with a contract length of five years.
Prior to signing for Liverpool, Diaz had attracted interest from Liverpool’s league rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Upon knowing Tottenham’s bid, Liverpool changed their summer plans, and decided to sign Diaz on a permanent deal, after impressing Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp.
International Career
After representing Colombia at under-20 level in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, Díaz was called up to the full squad on 27 August 2018, for friendlies against Venezuela and Argentina. He made his full international debut on 11 September, replacing Juan Cuadrado in a 0–0 draw against the latter at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Díaz scored his first international goal on 26 March 2019, equalising in a 2–1 friendly loss away to South Korea. He was part of Carlos Queiroz’ 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil.
Díaz was included in Colombia’s squad for the 2021 Copa América. On 23 June, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 first round loss to hosts Brazil with an acrobatic volley, 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 in the third-place match. He ended as joint top goalscorer of the tournament alongside Lionel Messi.
Wife/ Girlfriend
Luis Fernando Diaz Marulanda and his current girlfriend Gera Ponce met as teenagers, and their relationship is believed to have started in 2016.
Ponce, who like Diaz was born in La Guajira, holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from a local university.
After obtaining the qualification she followed Diaz to Portugal in 2019, when he moved to Porto from Colombian side Junior.
Ponce has remained in Portugal as her significant other has electrified the Estadio do Dragao.
Ponce has built up a following of over 122,000 followers on Instagram.
And she regularly delights fans with snaps updating her thousands of followers on her life.
However, in recent months, those snaps have largely focused on Diaz’ new baby girl: Roma.
The pair welcomed the addition to their family last November.
Luis Díaz is currently not married to hi girlreind Gera.
Net Worth and Salary
According to a report from Portuguese outlet SIC via The Mirror, Dias is ‘said to have agreed’ a yearly salary of €3.5million which equates to £56,000 per week playing for Liverpool FC.
Luis Díaz’s net worth as of 2022 is estimated at around $4 million – $12.5 milliopn.
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