Luis Díaz

Atlético Junior

Luis Fernando Díaz Marulanda was born on 13 January 1997 in Barrancas, La Guajira, and began playing football at the age of six. Nicknamed "Luchito", he attended a small football school run by his father. In 2014, at the age of 17, he attended an open trial hosted by Atlético Junior and impressed enough to join the youth team. He was included in Colombia's 22-man squad for the 2015 Copa Americana de Pueblos Indígenas, due to his Wayuu ethnicity. After impressing during the tournament, he joined the senior team of Atlético Junior in 2016, being immediately assigned to farm team Barranquilla. Given Díaz's slender build and a potentially malnourished appearance, he was given a dietary plan by Barranquilla to gain 10 kg. Díaz made his senior debut on 26 April 2016, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 Categoría Primera B home loss against Deportivo Pereira. His first senior goal came on 14 May, as he scored the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of Cúcuta Deportivo. On 6 June 2017, after already making his first team debut in the year's Copa Colombia, Díaz was subsequently promoted to Junior's main squad. He made his Categoría Primera A debut on 27 August, replacing Matías Mier in a 3–2 loss at Once Caldas, and scored his first goal on 20 September in a 3–1 Copa Sudamericana home win against Cerro Porteño. Díaz became a regular starter during the 2018 season, and scored his first goal in the top tier on 4 February of that year, by netting the game's…

After representing Colombia at under-20 level in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship, Díaz was called up to the full squad on 27 August 2018, for friendlies against Venezuela and Argentina. He made his full international debut on 11 September, replacing Juan Cuadrado in a 0–0 draw against the latter at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Díaz scored his first international goal on 26 March 2019, equalising in a 2–1 friendly loss away to South Korea. He was part of Carlos Queiroz' 23-man squad for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. Díaz was included in Colombia's squad for the 2021 Copa América. On 23 June, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 first round loss to hosts Brazil with a bicycle kick, and on 6 July he scored their goal in a semi-final draw against Argentina, which ended in an Argentine victory following a penalty shoot-out. Three days later, he scored twice, including the match-winning goal, in a 3–2 victory over Peru in the third-place match. He ended as joint-top goalscorer of the tournament alongside Lionel Messi. On 16 November 2023, Díaz scored both of Colombia's goals as they defeated Brazil 2–1 in what was the first time they had ever defeated the latter in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. On 21 June 2024, he was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América. He would help his national team reach the final, where they lost 1–0 to Argentina after extra time. Díaz was included in Colombia's squad 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World…

Club

As of match played 5 September 2026

International

As of match played 7 July 2026

As of match played 17 June 2026 Scores and results list Colombia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Díaz goal.

Díaz is of Wayuu origin. His brother, Jesús, is also a professional footballer. In July 2023, Díaz got engaged to his girlfriend, Gera Ponce and they got married in June 2025. On 29 October 2023, Díaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda and father Luis Manuel "Mane" Díaz were kidnapped by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their hometown of Barrancas. His mother was rescued by police a day later, with a "major military search" announced to locate his father. Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that "all the public forces have been deployed" and the following day, General William Rene Salamanca announced a reward of up to 200 million pesos for information on Díaz's father's whereabouts. Díaz was absent for Liverpool's following Premier League match against Nottingham Forest, with his teammate Diogo Jota holding up Díaz's shirt during a goal celebration. His father was released by the kidnappers on 9 November. In June 2024, leading up to the 2024 Copa América, Díaz appeared on Colombian singer, Ryan Castro's song "EL RITMO QUE NOS UNE". He also appeared in the music video alongside Colombian national team teammates, James Rodriguez and Juan Fernando Quintero who also sang in the song.