Luis Diaz parents kidnapped in Colombia - mother rescued but father of Liverpool star missing
The parents of Liverpool forward Luis Diaz were kidnapped in Colombia. The player's mother, Cilenis Marulanda, has been rescued but his father, Luis Manuel Diaz, remains missing.
Semana reported that the parents of the Colombia international were kidnapped in the municipality of Barrancas after they were approached by armed individuals on motorcycles.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that Cilenis Marulanda had been rescued but that officials were still searching for Luis Manuel Diaz.
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General William Salamanca, director of Colombia's National Police, said (via Semana): "We already have the mother, she is in good health, scared, but she is fine. They took the father away on a motorcycle, they took him out of the car and took him along the trails there. We are committed to carrying out checkpoints and identifying people on motorcycles."
Sky News report that Colombia's soccer federation said the kidnapping was regrettable - and urged authorities to rescue the father.
"The Colombian Football Federation rejects the security situation that the parents of our player Luis Díaz are going through," a statement said.
"From the FCF, we express our solidarity with him and his entire family, and we call for the relevant authorities to act as quickly as possible to resolve the situation."
Luis Diaz signed for Liverpool from Porto in a £37.5m deal in January 2022. He made an instant impact, helping the Reds to win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup as well as to second place in the Premier League and to the final of the Champions League.
Luis Diaz is also a star of the Colombia
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