Liverpool sold the world’s best player – and now Arne Slot is paying the price

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 7 Feb 2026 11:54 GMT
• 5 min read

Analysis

Liverpool find themselves out of the Premier League title race, with Arne Slot’s failure to recognise the talents of Luis Diaz emerging as an irredeemable mistake.

Despite a record summer spend of over €450 million, Liverpool lie sixth in England’s top-flight and could potentially miss out on the Champions League next season if they cannot rediscover their form.

Meanwhile, Diaz is hitting unparalleled heights with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, with the German club’s €70 million looking one of the bargains of the season, with the Colombian now the best player in the world, according to one expert source.

Current ETV

Luis Díaz

F, M (L)

Bayern

Luis Díaz

F, M (L)

Bayern

€82.6M

ETV Range

€74.4M - €90.9M

View full profile

Luis Diaz: The world’s best player?

Diaz has eclipsed Manchester City’s Erling Haaland as the world’s best player, according to SciSports’ SciSkill rating. This gives every player a value based on hundreds of in-game data points over a prolonged period.

The form of the 29-year-old in the Bundesliga has been particularly eye-catching. In 19 appearances, he has scored 10 goals and directly assisted nine more. Even allowing for Bayern's strength and the open nature of German football, these are formidable numbers.

This has seen Diaz’s SciSkill rise 15.7 points to 141.4 while his Bayern team-mate Harry Kane has followed him into second place with 135.6.

Of course, this is only one model, but it speaks to the impact that the player has enjoyed – and Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany has also been left impressed.

“Lucho has got a kind of chaotic creativity. He can always do something in chaos,” he said in November. “As a defender, I always found it uncomfortable to play against such players because you never know whether you have the ball under control or he has it.”

How a smart sale backfired

This ‘chaos’ factor was something that Jurgen Klopp embraced while Diaz’s Liverpool manager, but is something that Slot never quite had the same appreciation for.

Speaking following the winger’s departure, the Dutchman admitted: “This is also who we are as a club. We are making big signings, we have done that over the past few years. But this club also needs to recoup funds to get these transfers that we already did over the line.

“It has been a summer where we've spent a lot but I think if people look at all the money we've already brought in, that's also – like last year when we almost only sold players – a good thing for this club as well.”

On the fact of it, the deal that took Diaz to Bayern was good value for Liverpool. The player’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) had fallen to €50.4m at that point, so a fee of €70m seemed excellent business.

Hindsight suggests that sporting director Richard Hughes should have held out for a bigger fee. Diaz’s ETV has since risen to €82.6m – a career-high figure for a player whose potential is being maximised by Kompany in Bavaria.

Gakpo struggling to replace Diaz

Diaz’s exit from Anfield has left Slot’s compatriot Cody Gakpo as Liverpool’s primary option on the left wing.

He has struggled to offer a credible alternative to the player now ranked as the world’s best, with his SciSkill development compared to that of Diaz damning.

Gakpo’s figure has fallen 9.0 points over the course of the last six months to 115.5, enough for SciSports to consider it a period of “rapid decline”. Although the data experts believe that he has a potential of 126.4, this is still far weaker than Diaz’s figure.

The 26-year-old is also failing on the eye test. In 31 appearances across all competitions this season, he only has seven goals and four assists. He has descended to the depths of Liverpool’s scapegoat for their poor form.

Unlike the “chaos” that Diaz brought, Gakpo has become predictable, as The Athletic explained in an in-depth tactical piece that criticised his lack of variety.

With Liverpool struggling to get going as an attacking threat, despite a wealth of riches, they could use a dose of Diaz’s chaos, and that €70m fee they received for him no longer looks as big as it once did. Indeed, it’s starting to look like Slot’s biggest mistake.

Related stories:

Liverpool edge closer to second summer signing

Chelsea learn true cost of Rio Ngumoha transfer mistake

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•Google Play

•App Store