Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has defended the club’s decision to sell Luis Diaz and said no one claimed that the transfer was ‘crazy’ last summer.
Liverpool sold Diaz to Bayern Munich last summer for a fee in the region of £65m, with the Colombian having proven to be a big miss for the Reds.
Arne Slot’s side have struggled to replicate last season’s performances, while Diaz has had an exceptional debut season in Germany. The winger has scored 20 goals and provided 16 assists in all competitions for Bayern, who are 11 points clear in the Bundesliga title race.
Diaz had been a central figure in last season’s Premier League title triumph, but with his contract running down and the player approaching 30, Liverpool decided to cash in to help fund their record-breaking spending last summer.
Nicol has said those criticising the sale have the benefit of hindsight and that few were questioning the decision last summer.
“I think you’re spending the money on [Alexander] Isak. You’re spending the money on [Florian] Wirtz. You have Gakpo, and you’re getting offered what? Nearly £70m for a guy who’s 29 years old,” he told ESPN FC.
“I mean, hindsight’s dead easy, isn’t it? At the time it seemed like a very sensible and great business deal to get £70m for a 29-year-old when you already have Gakpo, and then you bring in Wirtz and Isak.
“There weren’t too many people complaining, let me put it that way. All the so-called experts, nobody said, ‘Liverpool are crazy, Liverpool are mad. Why are they doing this?’ Nobody said that at all.”
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