Luis Diaz points to the sky with both hands after scoring. He honors his grandma Rosaura Jimenez, who has gone in 2018, who assisted him most in his youth. If all goes well, Anfield will host this celebration often.

After growing up without a TV in Barrancas, north eastern Colombia, near Venezuela, Diaz spent his nights listening to Dona Rosaura tell stories. A TV appeared when Diaz’s career took off at Barranquilla, but it was too small to see the winger. Dona Rosaura was proud to see her grandson perform on screen after his first big payout.

Diaz will regret not seeing him play in the Premier League for £37 million. This man remembers his roots.

“He’s a very humble boy,” remarked Junior coach Julio Comesana. I’ve never seen him fight, disrespect, or garner attention for his social media usage. As a protagonist, he belongs on the pitch.”

Porto can confirm that. Before Liverpool came calling, Diaz was the finest player in Portugal, scoring 14 goals in 18 games. “The way he communicates with the ball is almost poetic,” remarked assistant manager Vitor Bruno.

Jurgen Klopp will be pleased for timid and unnatural speaker Diaz to let his performances speak.

Liverpool’s manager was impressed by the Colombian winger in the Copa America last summer. He finished the tournament as joint-top scorer with Lionel Messi, scoring against Brazil and Argentina despite starting on the bench.

I’m sure Diaz will adjust easily in Liverpool because that’s his life. He adapts, Comesana said.

“He moved from Barrancas to Barranquilla, which is difficult, but he did well. In Portugal, he also succeeded. No media reports have shown him having discipline difficulties or talking s—. He just became a father and has always respected his coworkers and others.

Some back home consider Diaz’s job advancement a miracle.

Born into Colombia’s largest indigenous group, the Wayuu, the 25-year-old spent his youth in one of the country’s poorest locations, where hundreds of children die of hunger. Even access to safe and sufficient water is a difficulty in La Guajira.

Many accuse the Cerrejon, one of the world’s largest open pit coal mines, for contaminating the river and making living difficult.

Except for Arnoldo Iguaran, the 1987 Copa America’s top scorer, few footballers from there have succeeded.

Diaz’s rise featured a 2015 Copa America of Indigenous People appearance with Colombia. He then joined Junior-affiliated Barranquilla and played in the U20 South American Championship two years later. His life was nearly lost.

“Our medical staff advised me not to call him because they doubted he could help the team physically. They talked about starvation and him not being able to handle the tournament, as if he would play two games and then rest in the third, said Atletico Nacional’s Carlos ‘Piscis’ Restrepo.

We chose to bring him, but would use him more as a second half option. He has progressed a lot since then and has a goal-scoring instinct.”

After packing his bags, Diaz joined Junior, which won the Colombian league and reached the Copa Sudamericana final the following season. Porto soon offered 7m euros in 2019.

He quickly adapted to north Portugal, although he was inconsistent and regularly benched in his first two seasons. This season, his hallmark move—cutting in from the left—has made him nearly unstoppable.

Liverpool’s fee infuriated Porto fans, especially because the team had sold talented attacker Fabio Silva to Wolverhampton for £35m in 2020.

“It was bad deal. Porto are struggling financially, but Liverpool got Diaz cheaply, says veteran Eurico Gomes.