Luis Diaz dedicates Carabao Cup win to ‘Mum and Dad’ as they watched on at Wembley… as Liverpool star insists it’s ‘special to celebrate’ with them after their kidnapping ordeal in Colombia last year

Liverpool star Luis Diaz dedicated his team’s Carabao Cup success to his parents, who were in attendance at Wembley.

Díaz played the entire game and Liverpool beat Chelsea 1-0. In extra time, Virgil van Dijk scored the late winning goal.

In October last year, Díaz’s parents were kidnapped by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in Colombia.

His mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours later, but Díaz’s father, Luis Manuel ‘Mane’ Díaz, was not released until almost two weeks later.

Diaz said being able to celebrate Liverpool’s Carabao Cup success with his parents was a special occasion.

Díaz (L) with his mother Cilenis Marulanda (C) and his father Luis Manuel ‘Mane’ Diaz (R)

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Díaz told Sky Sports: “It was a very tough match and great matches are played this way.” It was very physical and we were very tired at the end, but we were able to get the result and I knew we could do it.

‘We had a year with many games but we prepared like this. We prepared well and we knew it was going to be like this.

Commenting on his parents, Diaz said: “I dedicate this title to my mom and dad (who are at Wembley). Because of everything they went through, it makes it that much more special to celebrate this with my family.”

Díaz’s father was placed in the hands of a humanitarian commission made up of the Catholic Church and the UN.

A major search was carried out in an attempt to find Diaz’s father, and a reward of around £40,000 was offered for information.

It is the second time Diaz has won the Carabao Cup with Liverpool, having also participated in their 2022 success against Chelsea.

Díaz’s father, Luis Manuel ‘Mane’ Díaz, was freed almost two weeks after being kidnapped by gunmen in Colombia last year.