The father of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz has explained why his son decided to join the Reds after Tottenham's deal for the Colombia winger was hijacked.
Spurs appeared to be closing in on a deal for the then-Porto winger as transfer deadline day approached, only for Liverpool to accelerate their own move for the player.
Jurgen Klopp had been prepared to wait until the summer to sign Diaz but the club were made to move quickly after news of Tottenham's approach emerged.
The six-times Champions League winners swooped in and signed the 25-year-old, reportedly leaving Daniel Levy furious at how the situation had played out.
Diaz made an immediate impact on his debut at Anfield on Sunday, coming off the bench to set-up Takumi Minamino to score Liverpool's second goal in a 3-1 win over Cardiff in the FA Cup.
Now, the player's father - Luis Manuel Diaz - has revealed that his son called him after the match to share his satisfaction with the debut.
"After the first game, he told me that it was a team that works hard, complete, in which he will feel comfortable and will have the chance to play with high-performance players," he told Colombian radio station Bluradio.
Diaz Snr went on to give details on why Liverpool ultimately won the race for the winger.
While Spurs may have initiated January talks, they also hesitated during negotiations and the chance to join a team of the Reds stature could not be turned down.
"There were many suitors who wanted Luis’ services, but he had the dream of reaching Liverpool. Because Liverpool are an elite team," he explained
“Tottenham was one. Roma was also left behind in the process. They hesitated a lot and let themselves be caught by Liverpool. Liverpool were faster than them, they needed him and they took him away."
