The emotional reunion of Luis Díaz with his father after kidnapping | VIDEO

Luis Diaz This Tuesday he joined the Colombian team’s concentration in Barranquilla and was reunited with his father, Luis Manuel, released last week after 12 days in the hands of the ELN guerrilla.

Considered one of the biggest stars of South American football, Diaz He hugged his father in tears in the first meeting between the two after the kidnapping that occurred on October 28, according to images released by the Colombian Football Federation (FCF).

“No more kidnapping,” read the black T-shirt of the father and first football coach of Diaz when he was a child in the indigenous town of Barrancas (north). In his lap, ‘Lucho’s’ daughter Diaz He watched the moved grandfather.

The Liverpool winger is called upon to lead Colombia in the difficult match they will face against Brazil on Thursday, starting at 7:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT) in Barranquilla, for the fifth round of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Luis Manuel Diaz56, was handed over by the guerrillas to a delegation from the Catholic Church and the United Nations on Thursday, in a mountainous area on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

He was kidnapped along with his wife in Barrancas, where the family is from. According to authorities, the ELN, which is holding peace talks with the government, hired a criminal gang known as “Los primos” to kidnap the man. The woman was released a few hours later. Four suspects were captured on Saturday.

After captivity, ‘Mané’ returned exhausted and limping from the long walks he was forced to take through a mountainous area known as Serranía de Peritá, very close to Venezuela.

He assured that he wants to continue living in Barrancas with his family.

Colombia is a country traversed by six decades of armed conflict that leaves 9.5 million victims: displaced, murdered, kidnapped and missing.