Luis Diaz father celebrates birthday in Liverpool weeks after being freed by kidnappers

The father of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz thanked his loved ones as he celebrated his 55th birthday over the weekend - just weeks after being freed from the capture of an insurgent group in Colombia.

Luis Manuel Diaz was kidnapped by the ELN (The National Liberation Army), a rebel group in his homeland, on October 28 and was held hostage for 12 days while a nationwide search for his whereabouts took place in Colombia and its neighbouring Venezuela.

The 55-year-old was kidnapped alongside his wife, Clienis Marulanda, when armed men on motorcycles ambushed their family van at a petrol station in the region of La Guajira. Although Mrs Marulanda would be rescued just hours later, Diaz Snr would only be freed after an intervention from the Catholic Church and the United Nations on November 9.

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After initially being reunited with his son when Diaz returned to Colombia for international selection earlier this month, Liverpool organised for Mr Diaz and the rest of his family to be flown to Merseyside to spend time with his loved one after a traumatic few weeks.

Over the weekend, Mr Diaz celebrated his 55th birthday on Merseyside, just hours after watching Liverpool snatch a point at Manchester City, and thanked Diaz Jnr and his family for the "beautiful day".

"I want to thank God for allowing me to celebrate another year of life, my family, my wife, my children, my daughter-in-law for making me spend this beautiful day," wrote Mr Diaz on Instagram. "God bless you, I always love you with all my heart."

In light of his father's kidnapping, Diaz missed Liverpool's victory over Nottingham