In the book “Blue until the end”, recently published by Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, the former president of FC Porto revealed the episode that led to the sale of Luiz Díaz to Liverpool in January 2021.
In this chapter, the former Dragons boss says that the club would have to sell, otherwise it would be banned from participating in European competitions, a situation which, according to Pinto da Costa, was largely the case. due to pressure from Sérgio Conceição. in two signatures in particular.
“We were left, two days before the deadline given by UEFA, in a dilemma – should we sell a player’s pass or not go to European competitions. This second solution, for me, was unacceptable. I had already warned my colleagues. If this would happen that I would give up with this pressure”, it can be read.
Faced with financial difficulties, Pinto da Costa writes that the club was forced to see one of its key players leave, adding to those interested in the deal, and that Liverpool’s proposal for Díaz is the one which presented the best conditions.
“Then we had to negotiate a player and we went to the market. We received proposals from Vitinha, Fábio Vieira and Taremi, which I considered regrettable because they were taking advantage of our situation. Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle , Barcelona Liverpool was the one who gave us the best conditions and that was the one the player preferred and he accepted it.