Liverpool Wanted Julián Álvarez For Luis Díaz: Who Would Have Won That Swap?

Reports emerged that in the summer of 2024, Liverpool understood Luis Díaz was keen on a move to Manchester City and floated a swap for Julián Álvarez. City’s side is said to have rebuffed it with a firm message about not selling to a direct rival, and Liverpool responded in kind. The story has resurfaced through respected beat writers Paul Joyce at The Times and Chris Bascombe at The Telegraph.

What follows is a cool-headed look at the football logic on both sides, backed by what actually happened next. Álvarez left City for Atlético Madrid in August 2024 and blossomed in La Liga. Díaz stayed at Liverpool through the 2024–25 title win, then moved to Bayern Munich in July 2025. These facts give us a rare chance to judge the hypothetical with real outcomes.

The 2024 Context: Squad Needs and Profiles

Julián Álvarez at City was a proven presser who could play as a nine, a second striker, or as a high-energy ten. His issue was role clarity in a team built around Erling Haaland, which made regular starts in the biggest games hard to guarantee. Diego Simeone and Atlético pounced in August 2024 with a long contract after agreeing a record sale for City at an initial €75m rising with add-ons. That exit underlined his standing as a prime-age elite forward, not a makeweight.

Luis Díaz at Liverpool was the left-wing live wire who carried stretch, one-v-one threat, and transitional punch. He delivered his strongest Premier League season for Liverpool in 2024–25, a campaign that ended with a title. Thirteen league goals and seven assists in thirty-six matches is a robust return for a wide forward asked to defend space and run powerfully without the ball.

Tactically, Liverpool in summer 2024 had a clear use case for Álvarez. He would have given Arne Slot a pressing forward who could lead the first line, drop in to connect, and let Mohamed Salah start wider before drifting inside. He also fit the club’s long-running taste for multipurpose, high-intensity attackers. City’s use case for Díaz was less essential. Jeremy Doku and others already covered left-wing profiles, with Phil Foden also outstanding when used from that side. 

Díaz would have upgraded ball-carrying and depth, yet at the cost of giving Liverpool a nine or nine-and-a-half they did not have. That upside for Liverpool is exactly why City were never likely to enable it.

What Actually Happened Next and What it Tells Us?

Reality gave us a natural experiment. Álvarez left England and became a key piece for Atlético, validating that he was a starter-level forward for a Champions League side. The size of the fee and contract length screamed top-tier assets.

Díaz, meanwhile, stayed and helped deliver Liverpool’s league title in 2024–25 before moving to Bayern Munich for a large fee the following summer. Both The Times and Reuters reported that Bayern paid around £65m–£75m, with Díaz signing a four-year deal. You do not receive that valuation unless you are a true first-team difference-maker.

These outcomes sharpen the counterfactual. If Liverpool had landed Álvarez, they would have replaced a left-wing specialist with a prime-age forward who presses like a demon, finishes reliably, and can toggle roles within a match. 

Value, Fit, and Risk 

From a pure asset value perspective, Álvarez is the rarer archetype. Elite mobile nines who also create are scarce and command very high fees. City ultimately cashed out at a club record in 2024, which hints at how much market value Liverpool would have captured had they been the buyer instead. 

Díaz’s move to Bayern a year later shows he kept his value, but the league-wide market shows it is generally easier to find top wide forwards than to find a forward who can both score 20+ and press at a world-class standard.

On-pitch impact is just as important. Álvarez is an off-ball timing expert who triggers presses and creates turnovers in dangerous areas. His link play would have complemented Liverpool’s runners and made their rest defense more secure by starting counterpresses earlier. 

Díaz is a devastating carrier and can be a match-winner on his day, but would not have changed City’s structural picture as much as Álvarez would have changed Liverpool’s. In short, the marginal gain would have tilted strongly toward Liverpool.

If supporters really want to dream, picture this: Liverpool pulling off the Álvarez swap in 2024, and then following it up with the record-breaking capture of Alexander Isak in 2025 as they actually did. That front line would have been outrageous. A pressing machine in Álvarez working off the ball, Isak’s physical presence and finishing leading the line, plus Salah and Gakpo stretching teams. 

Add Wirtz’s creativity behind them, and Liverpool’s attack would not just have been strong,  it could have been downright terrifying for Premier League rivals and Champions League heavyweights alike. It is the kind of “what if” scenario that makes fans sigh at what might have been.

Final Thoughts 

Stack the evidence and the verdict is clear. Liverpool would have upgraded role scarcity, tactical elasticity, and long-term value with Álvarez. City would have swapped an elite but surplus profile for a rival’s potential centerpiece. The strategic logic for City never added up, which is likely why reports describe a flat refusal to transact with a direct rival at the time.

Even with hindsight that favors both players, the calculus stands. Álvarez’s sale price and immediate importance to Atlético validate the ceiling Liverpool hoped to buy. Díaz’s consistency and eventual move to Bayern prove his elite status, yet also confirm that City already had similar strengths in-house. If the swap had happened, Liverpool would have gained more winning utility from Álvarez than City would have gained from Díaz.