The spending limit Barcelona had set for Luis Diaz – report

It is no secret that Barcelona were seriously interested in signing Liverpool star Luis Diaz this summer. 

The Colombian winger, highly valued by Deco and the sporting department, was one of the club’s top transfer targets. 

However, as reported by SPORT, Barcelona made it clear from the beginning that they would not pay more than €70 million for him, including the variables. That was their limit. No more, no less.

Even though Barça eventually shifted focus to Marcus Rashford, their admiration for Diaz never disappeared. 

The club had always kept him high on their wish list, but with Barcelona facing financial fair play restrictions and Liverpool’s high demands, the deal became impossible early on.

Bayern’s move played a big role

Barcelona had a specific plan in mind. Their idea was to let Bayern Munich engage Liverpool first and wear them down in negotiations. 

Then, once Barça were officially back under La Liga’s 1:1 spending rule in August, they would try to swoop in and make their move. 

Barcelona were extremely interested in Luis Diaz. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

However, Bayern’s approach came sooner than expected. The German giants offered €67.5 million for Diaz, but Liverpool rejected it outright. 

Reports suggest Bayern are now preparing to raise their offer. Meanwhile, Barcelona decided to act quickly and consider jumping into the race earlier than planned, but only under strict conditions.

Barça made it clear to both Liverpool and Diaz’s camp that their maximum offer would be €70 million, only if all the variables and bonuses were included. Their wage proposal matched Bayern’s, but they refused to go beyond that number.

Liverpool not ready to part ways

Liverpool, keen to drive up the bidding, leaked to the media that they would only consider selling Diaz for €82 million. 

At that point, Barcelona stepped away, as Deco had no interest in another exhausting negotiation for a player they couldn’t afford.

Barcelona’s message was clear that if Diaz truly wanted to join the club, he needed to push for the move himself. Since that did not happen, Barça have now fully backed away from the deal.