Liverpool star, Luis Diaz, was seen in high spirits moments before his team took on Toulouse, just hours after it was revealed his father had been freed from his 12-day kidnapping ordeal.
Diaz, 26, was one of the starting XI against Toulouse in the Europa game in France, Daily Mail reports Thursday.
His father, Luis Manuel Diaz, was received into the hands of a ‘Humanitarian Commission’ made up of the Catholic Church & the UN, earlier on Thursday.
Local media say the plan now is to take Manuel Diaz to a nearby city for medical checks, with family already on their way to see him.
Diaz’s father, 58, was abducted along with the forward’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, from the town of Barrancas in La Guajira, Colombia, on October 28.
Colombia’s anti-government National Liberation Army, a left-wing guerrilla group, were subsequently found to be responsible.
Diaz’s mother was reportedly rescued on Sunday, October 30, after she was left in a car by the guerrilla group, with members of the ELN keeping his father as a captive.
The Colombian Football Federation thanks the National Government, the Military Forces and the National Police, as well as all the institutions and officials that made the release of Luís Manuel Díaz, father of player Luís Díaz, possible, a statement from the Colombia FA read.
On hearing the news of Diaz’s father’s return, Liverpool wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “We are delighted by the news of Luis Diaz’s father’s safe return and we thank all those involved in securing his release.”
