The parents of Luis Diaz have been brought to Merseyside by Liverpool so they can spend Christmas with their son.
Cilenis Marulanda was freed almost right away after being captured earlier this month by the National Liberation A.r.m.y rebel group. However, father Luis Manuel was held captive for 12 days before he was freed late last week.
When Diaz came back to Colombia from international service, he saw his parents again. They were in the crowd on Thursday to watch their son score both goals in an emotional 2-1 win at home against Brazil.
According to the PA news agency, Liverpool paid for a private jet to bring Diaz’s parents and other family members to Merseyside after the game so they could spend a long time together. This was done for security reasons and to help the family deal with their pаin.
Their plane touched down early Saturday morning at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport.
Since Diaz’s parents were kn, the club has done everything it could to help. For example, manager Jurgen Klopp gave Diaz compassionate leave and let the player decide when he trained and was available for selection, because the club believes that family values are very important to its culture.
Diaz will go back to his family in Liverpool after their game in Paraguay on Tuesday, when he gets back from international service.
He is going to be on a flight with other South American players from the club, including Alisson Becker (who was beaten twice by Becker in a game in Barranquilla, in the far north of Colombia), Alexis Mac Allister, and Darwin Nunez (who played against each other in Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Uruguay). The plane was chartered by several Premier League clubs to get their players back home as quickly as possible.
If you want to see who is at the top of the table, Liverpool plays Manchester City next Saturday morning at the Etihad Stadium.