Bayern Munich agree €75m deal to sign Liverpool’s Luis Diaz – The Athletic – The New York Times

Bayern Munich have agreed a €75million (£65.6m; $88.1m) deal to sign Liverpool forward Luis Diaz.
Diaz is currently in Tokyo with Arne Slot’s squad on their pre-season tour, but Liverpool have given him permission to travel and complete his move to the German champions in the next 24 hours.
Earlier this summer, Liverpool rejected an offer worth €67.5m (£58.6m; $78.8m) from Bayern for Diaz but, as reported by The Athletic on Friday, talks resumed over a deal for the Colombian.
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Liverpool were only prepared to sell the forward for what they considered to be his full market value, with the club already securing transfer fees for the sales of Jarell Quansah, Caoimhin Kelleher, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Nathaniel Phillips this summer.
Diaz, who has a contract until June 2027, has made it clear he wants to leave the Anfield club this summer. Head coach Arne Slot confirmed on Saturday that he was left out of Liverpool’s friendly defeat against AC Milan due to discussions over his future.
“In Lucho’s situation it was (linked to his future), yeah,” Slot said.
“There are a lot of rumours around it lately and I cannot go into that. He is training really well with us but we have decided, for now, not to play him yet.
“Yes (I’ve spoken to Diaz about it) but I am used to talking to most of my players on a regular basis. Like I said, Lucho is training really well but we’ve decided that he is best not playing at the moment in the games and I cannot comment much more than that.”
Liverpool have signed forward Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt in a deal worth around £69million ($93.4m) up-front, with a further £10m possible in add-ons and have communicated their desire to sign Newcastle striker Alexander Isak – who wants to leave St James’ Park.
The Premier League champions are also open to selling Darwin Nunez this summer, while Harvey Elliott has said he will “review” his situation at the club amid fierce competition for places.
The tragic death of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in a car accident on July 3 has further impacted the club’s decision-making in the market.
Bayern have been on the hunt for a forward this summer but have missed out on several targets.
The Bundesliga champions’ primary target Florian Wirtz chose to move to Liverpool, while Spain international winger Nico Williams opted to renew his contract with Athletic Club. The Athletic reported on July 9 that Bayern had enquired about signing RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons.
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Bayern admire Diaz’s versatility and regard him as a forward who can play different roles across the front line.
Diaz joined Liverpool from Porto in January 2022 for an initial fee of £37.5m. The deal could have potentially risen to £50m with add-ons but his total cost eventually came to around £43m.
He has made 148 appearances for the club, scoring 41 goals and providing 23 assists in all competitions.
Diaz played a key role under Arne Slot during Liverpool’s 2024-25 Premier League title-winning campaign, scoring 13 top-flight goals in 36 appearances.

Additional reporting from James Pearce and Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
(Photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

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