A lot proved difficult for FC Bayern on this last Saturday in November against St. Pauli. In the end, however, the commanding league leaders were able to rely on Luis Díaz in the decisive moments.
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Discussions about transfer fees are often futile in a business where irrationality seems to be part of the daily routine.
The roughly 70 million euros that the record champions transferred to Liverpool for Luis Diaz initially looked like a risk, especially given the Colombian’s age of 28 and the club’s already high wage bill. From the outside, skeptics wondered whether Bayern were paying for past performances in the Premier League rather than for future upside. Inside the club, however, those responsible were convinced they were bringing in a player who could immediately raise the level in decisive moments rather than merely padding the squad.
Very quickly, Diaz has done a lot to justify that belief. In a team that is still finding its way under Vincent Kompany, the Colombian has become one of the central reference points in the final third. He stretches defenses with his constant runs, he offers himself between the lines and, perhaps most importantly, he never stops attacking his opponent one against one. There are games in which he loses the ball several times in a row and still demands it again at the next opportunity. That mentality is precisely what Bayern felt they had been missing on the left side in some of their biggest matches in recent seasons.
The hard-fought 3-1 against St Pauli serves as a perfect microcosm of his importance. It was not a glamorous performance from Bayern. St Pauli pressed bravely, defended compactly, and repeatedly disrupted Bayern’s build-up play. Diaz, too, had phases in which simple passes went astray or dribbles failed. Yet his willingness to keep trying became a turning point. In the move for the 1-1, after a long diagonal ball from Min Jae Kim, Diaz attacked the gap between full-back and centre-back, stumbled as he entered the penalty area and fell to the ground. Many players would have simply accepted the situation and appealed for a foul. Diaz reacted differently. While still on the turf, he reacted faster than everyone else, poked the loose ball toward Raphael Guerreiro, and the Portuguese calmly slotted in the crucial equaliser just before half-time.
That scene did not come out of nowhere. Kompany later revealed that Diaz had experienced a similar situation in training that same week. Instead of letting the move die after a stumble, he had fought to keep the action alive and managed to create a chance. The coach used that incident as a teaching moment. Chaos, he explained to the team, is not necessarily something to be avoided. With a player like Diaz, chaos can be a weapon. The Colombian thrives when the structure briefly dissolves, when the ball bounces unpredictably and defenders hesitate for a split second. Kompany described him as a player who brings a form of chaos creativity to the pitch, a player in whom something can always happen when the situation seems messy. Looking back on his own time as a defender, he admitted he would have hated facing someone with that mixture of fearlessness, improvisation and relentlessness because you are never entirely sure whether you truly have the ball under control or whether he will find a way to steal it back.
Already now, Diaz’s numbers underline his impact. Efficiency in front of goal remains a talking point for the new signing, given the number of big chances he has already missed. Still, he is on 19 goal involvements in all competitions including the Supercup, with twelve goals and seven assists. For a player who is constantly involved in high-risk actions, who often receives the ball under pressure and is asked to take on defenders rather than recycling possession, that output is anything but disappointing. Coaching staff and analysts inside Bayern see further potential for improvement, especially once automatisms with the central striker and overlapping full-back are even more refined.
The 3-1 over St Pauli again highlighted both sides of his finishing. For long stretches he seemed to make the wrong choice in the box, delaying shots or aiming too centrally. Then, in stoppage time, he showed exactly the instinct that separates decisive players from merely good ones. After a measured cross from Joshua Kimmich, Diaz attacked the space at the far post and found a way to turn the ball in with his shoulder in a manner that looked unorthodox but was anything but accidental. He had read the situation earlier, adjusted his run and trusted that any sort of contact might be enough to beat the goalkeeper. Sometimes efficiency is not about textbook technique but about ruthless determination to be first to the ball.
Beyond the goals and assists, Diaz’s work rate has turned him into a crowd favourite and a coach’s favourite at the same time. He tracks back deep into his own half, doubles up with his full-back, and often starts counters with ball recoveries on the wing. President Herbert Hainer summed it up succinctly when he noted after the Champions League trip to London that against Arsenal it was obvious how much the team missed him. In the 3-1 defeat during the week, Bayern lacked exactly that kind of outlet on the left flank who can relieve pressure, hold the ball for a moment and push the team up the field as a unit.
The reason for his absence in that match was a self-inflicted one. Diaz was serving the first game of a three match suspension after a reckless and completely unnecessary foul against Paris Saint Germain. It was a reminder that his permanently high emotional temperature, which makes him so unpleasant for opponents, can sometimes spill over into rash decisions. Inside the club, no one wanted to dramatise the incident, but internal conversations were held about game management and emotional control. Bayern have nevertheless lodged an appeal with UEFA, hoping to have the ban reduced from three to two European matches, arguing that the foul looked worse in slow motion than it actually was and that Diaz’s record is otherwise relatively clean. A decision is expected in the coming week, and the outcome could have a direct impact on Bayern’s prospects in the Champions League knockout phase.
On the other side of the deal, Liverpool are watching developments in Munich with mixed feelings. Financially, the transfer brought in a significant fee at a time when the club needed flexibility to refresh other parts of the squad. Yet each time Diaz changes a big game with a goal, assist or tireless pressing, the question becomes louder on Merseyside whether it was wise to part ways with such a relentless worker. He was rarely the most glamorous star in Liverpool’s attacking line, but his runs opened spaces for others, his defensive contribution masked weaknesses, and his mentality fitted perfectly with the identity that Jürgen Klopp had instilled in the club. Replacing a profile like that is far more difficult than simply signing another winger with good statistics.
From Bayern’s point of view, however, the transfer has already shifted the emotional balance of the team. Diaz embodies the kind of hunger and urgency that supporters expect from someone wearing the number on the left wing of the Rekordmeister. He chases lost causes, he celebrates defensive actions, and he rarely appears satisfied even after a win. In a dressing room that includes world champions and established superstars, he brings an underdog energy that keeps the group from becoming complacent. Younger players in particular reportedly look to him as an example of how to train and play at full intensity every single day.
Looking ahead, the real verdict on the deal will be written in the biggest matches of the season. If Diaz decides a Champions League quarter-final or semi-final in Bayern’s favour, the debate about the transfer fee will appear even more pointless than it does today. Even without such dramatic moments, the trend is clear. Bayern did not buy a marketing figure or a player who shines only when things are going smoothly. They invested heavily in someone who embraces the chaos of elite football and tries to bend it to his will. In a sport that is becoming ever more structured and data driven, that kind of unpredictable creativity is a rare commodity.
So while discussions about money will always resurface in modern football, Luis Diaz is steadily offering the simplest possible answer on the pitch. He runs, he fights, he creates, he occasionally infuriates, and he changes games. For a club with the ambitions of FC Bayern, that combination is precisely what they were paying for when they sent 70 million euros to Liverpool.
Updated: 12:17, 30 Nov 2025
