Bayern Munich great Lothar Matthaus has reminded Luis Diaz that he "wasn't the first choice" after moving to the German giants from Liverpool for £65million.
The Colombian's deal at Anfield had two years left and he wanted a new contract, but Kop bosses refused to open negotiations over a new deal - forcing Diaz and his representatives to push for his exit. Bayern eventually secured a deal with Liverpool to take him to Bavaria, ending their summer-long search for new attacking talent.
Diaz bolsters their options having lost Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane on free transfers, with Jamal Musiala also out injured. They had previously looked to land Spain star Nico Williams, who ultimately decided to remain at Athletic Bilbao. And Matthaus, after seeing Diaz's debut at the Allianz Arena at the weekend, has sought to remind both the player and his new club about their new marriage.
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He told Bild: "Diaz is a good player, but he wasn't the first choice for this position. We also received rejections, and Eberl mustn't forget that."
Diaz made his debut in a 2-1 win over French side Lyon. The 28-year-old came off the bench in the second half and won a penalty as he offered a glimpse of what he can do, but the ex-Red maintained he had a lot more in the tank once he was settled.
He said: "I'll get used to the team bit by bit. I think I personally had a good game. I had chances to score, but hopefully I'll score next time. My first impressions are incredible. I'm very happy and feeling well in my first few days here. I'll need a bit of time to integrate and get to know my teammates so I can help the team better."
Diaz has been well received by the German media, who gave him a positive review after his first outing. Bild claimed that Diaz had "quickly silenced all critics who consider his mega-transfer fee far too high.”
Kicker stated: "Luis Diaz brought the certain sense of play that his predecessor Leroy Sané also embodied time and again to the field in his first 45 minutes, looking for dribbles, shots and the way to the goal, but got tangled up two or three times.
"Have Bayern finally found legitimate successors to the wing duo of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in him and Olise?”
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