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Former Liverpool player Luis Diaz, the subject of a big-money summer transfer, scored on his competitive debut for Bayern Munich on Saturday as the Bavarians triumphed over VFB Stuttgart in Saturday's Franz Beckenbauer Supercup.
77 minutes into the match, the Colombian found himself unmarked in the box and connected with a Serge Gnabry cross to make the score 2-0. The goal was crucial: Bayern conceded late and nervily hung on to a 2-1 victory.
Diaz immediately jogged to the corner flag, sat down, and honored his former teammate Diogo Jota with his signature video game celebration before being cheered by his Bayern teammates. In early July, Jota tragically passed away in a car accident along with his brother, Andre.
Diaz and Jota were teammates in Merseyside from 2022 to 2025 following the Colombian international's arrival from Porto, Jota's old club.
Diaz transferred to Bayern this summer for €75 million (£65m/$87m), a sizeable margin for a 28-year-old winger. He's the second recent high-profile player to move from Liverpool to Munich in recent years, joining Sadio Mane (2022).
Diaz figures to line up exclusively on the left wing for coach Vincent Kompany's side, flanking English forward Harry Kane. The 28-year-old primarily lined up on the left for Liverpool last year but moonlit as a center-forward last fall with Jota out injured and striker Darwin Nunez struggling for form.
He played all 90 minutes for Bayern on Saturday, completing 38 of 42 passes and one of his four dribbles. The one he pulled off was stunning: Diaz caused Stuttgart winger Jamie Leweling to faceplant with a smooth acceleration in the first half.
Ahead of Diaz's positive debut, former Bayern Munich and Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann told German site Heute that he's skeptical of the transfer.
Diaz is a very good footballer, but what Bayern are doing isn't a business model. Bringing in a 28-year-old for that amount of money and then paying him even more than he earned in England? Liverpool are laughing," Hamann said.
"And, coach Kompany isn't letting the youngsters play. And I've heard there's talent there like there hasn't been in 10 years. Yet the German championship is still only possible through Bayern," he continued.
"Who else? Leverkusen will have a tough time, and it won't be Leipzig either; Dortmund is the most likely option. The benchmark for Bayern will be the Champions League."
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