Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders says ‘the whole club is behind’ Luis Diaz after his parents were kidnapped in Colombia – with his father still missing
- Luis Diaz was informed his parents had been kidnapped on Saturday evening
- His mother has since been freed, but his father remains missing
- Follow Mail Sport’s new Liverpool WhatsApp channel for all the breaking news
Pep Lijnders has revealed Liverpool are giving Luis Diaz as much support as possible as the search for his father continues after he was kidnapped in Colombia.
Diaz was told about his parents being kidnapped on Saturday evening, less than 24 hours before Liverpool’s 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest at Anfield.
His mother, Cilenis Marulanda, has since been freed from the kidnappers, but the whereabouts of his father, Luis Manuel, remain unknown.
There is currently a huge search for Luis Manuel in his homeland, while Diaz is still in Liverpool hoping for positive news. Liverpool’s assistant coach Lijnders has provided an update on how the club are trying to help Diaz following the distressing incident.
‘Lucho is the guy who always smiles. We really care about him,’ Lijnders said.
A reward of around £40,000 has been offered for information about Luis Diaz’s father’s kidnapping
Luis Diaz has remained in England while the search for his father in Colombia continues
Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders has said the whole club is giving Diaz their full support
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‘We try to support him as much as we can. A lot of things are out of our hands. We pray that they find his dad and everything is good. The whole club is behind him.’
According to a report from Colombian magazine Semana, Diaz was keen to return to his country of birth to try and find his father, but he was persuaded by relatives to stay in England.
This decision was made after concerns were raised about his own safety if he opted to go back to Colombia.
More details of the kidnapping have emerged recently, with Semana’s report claiming Diaz’s parents were buying watermelons when they were taken by four armed men on motorcycles.
After the police enacted a ‘padlock’ operation to find the couple, the assailants reportedly abandoned Diaz’s stolen car and continued on three motorcycles, two of which were taken from civilians.
Diaz’s mother was freed from her ordeal with a reward of 200 million Colombian pesos [around £40,000] offered by the authorities for information.
The Colombian army have since issued a statement confirming Diaz’s father is still being looked for with the assistance of ‘two motorised platoons, unmanned aircraft, checkpoints, helicopters, a plane with specialised radar and more than 120 men’.
Border crossings between Colombia and Venezuela are also being monitored by army commandos in an attempt to prevent Diaz’s father potentially being taken into the neighbouring country.
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