Luis Diaz pictured in tearful reunion with father after Liverpool star's parents' kidnap ordeal
Liverpool player Luis Diaz has been reunited with his father after their family's kidnap ordeal.
Luis Manuel Diaz, 58, was taken by members of Colombia's guerilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) along with his wife last month.
Police were able to quickly rescue Diaz's mother but his father spent 12 days with his captors and has spoken of his experience following his safe return.
"It was a lot of horseback riding, really hard, a lot of mountains, a lot of rain, too many insects," he said.
"I couldn't sleep peacefully, it was very difficult, almost 12 days without sleep."
📸 ¡𝙀𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙤𝙨!
La familia de @LuisFDiaz19 se acercó a la concentración para llenarnos de fuerza, amor y sentimiento 💛💛💙❤️
¡Somos familia! #TodosSomosColombia🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/YLqryUPlep— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) November 14, 2023
On Tuesday, Diaz was reunited with his family after landing in the South American country for the international period.
The 26-year-old flew to the Colombian capital of Bogota to meet his parents before heading onto his national team's base in Barranquilla.
A social media post by the national team read: "This was Lucho's exciting meeting with his father Mane Diaz and his family. We love you and we are more united than ever! We are all Colombians."
Brazil travel to Colombia for a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night before Los Cafeteros take a trip to Paraguay.