Despite their well-documented financial problems, Barca eyed an ambitious attempt to sign Luis Diaz from FC Porto in January.
Barcelona considered trying to sign Luis Diaz in January before the winger’s move to Liverpool, according to the club’s president Joan Laporta.
The 25-year-old Columbia international joined Liverpool in a deal worth €60 million, with the Reds paying Porto an initial €45 million and an additional €15 million in add-ons further down the line.
“At that time we had just landed at the club and Liverpool beat us to it, but we were considering bringing [Diaz] in,” Laporta said at a press conference in Bogota, the capital of Columbia.
“But we were in an economic situation that we had to resolve and reverse. Liverpool were ahead of us.”
The Barcelona chief added: “He’s a great player who has a great sense of belonging to Liverpool and I will not talk about it anymore, but we were interested at the time. We had a conversation with his representative, but they already had it very advanced [with Liverpool].”
Diaz has managed 10 goals and eight assists in 38 appearances across all competitions for Liverpool. He helped the club win the FA and EFL Cups last season, as well as reach the Champions League final.
The former Porto attacker has been out since September after picking up a knee injury in the 3-2 Premier Leage defeat to Arsenal.
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