Luis Diaz makes astonishing Messi and Ronaldo prediction

Arne Slot has had a huge impact on a number of Liverpool players since he joined as first-team coach.

Most pundits believed that there would be a drop-off in Liverpool’s performances compared to last year, as Slot bedded himself into the Premier League and the players got used to working with someone other than Jurgen Klopp.

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However, that has not happened. Liverpool are as good, if not better than they were last year, and are sitting at the top of both the Premier League and Champions League during the November international break.

Slot’s success so far has been twofold: finding a way to have more control in games, and improving players on the training pitch, as seen in the performances of players like Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz this season.

Players who at times looked tired and lacking in confidence last season are now in electric form, with Diaz in particular looking like one of the most dangerous attackers in the world at the moment.

Diaz, who was Colombia’s first-ever indigenous player to represent the national team, has nine goals in 16 games across all competitions. In Jurgen Klopp’s final season in charge he managed 13 in 51 games, so he’s on track for his best goal return in a Liverpool jersey.

Slot’s decision to try Diaz as a central striker has been inspired, as seen in the hat-trick he bagged against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. He’s always had incredible skill with the ball at his feet, but at the age of 27, seems to be finally adding that clinical streak to his game.

Diaz feels more confident than ever now, although one of his former coaches has revealed that the Liverpool winger has always had the belief he would succeed, even as a youngster.

Diaz: Messi and Ronaldo will want photos with me

Jhon Jairo 'Pocillo' Díaz was a former coach of Luis Diaz’s, and is credited with ‘discovering’ the Colombian as a youngster.

In a new interview with GOL Caracol, ‘Pocillo’ Diaz has revealed that a young Luis Diaz always knew he was going to make it to the top.

"Apart from his way of playing, in one of his talks he said that he was certain that in a few years he would be in one of the top five teams in the world, that he would play in the Champions League and that he would be applauded in some stadium in Europe,” ‘Pocillo’ Diaz said.

“That left its mark on me. He was already visualising and dreaming, and look where he is going. And I think he still has the potential to give.

“He told some of his teammates that one day both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would ask him for a photo."

To have that kind of confidence at a young age - to say that two of the best players of all time would be the ones wanting to meet you - is astounding, and is a mark of the kind of mindset players need to make it to the very top of the game.

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