Rio Ferdinand believes Liverpool manager Arne Slott regrets selling Luis Dias to Bayern Munich in the summer, insisting Codi Gakpo is not “better”.
Liverpool have lost four of their opening nine games and sit seventh in the Premier League behind Manchester United, Sunderland and Bournemouth.
After winning their first five games of the season, the Reds have suffered a dismal run of four straight losses since then. New signings Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Milos Kerkes are questionable, while centre-backs Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk are also struggling.
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It’s been a summer of change at Anfield as Liverpool spent over £400m in the transfer market, signing Isak and Wirtz for over £100m each.
Slott and his players are going through a period of transition after winning the canter title, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister experiencing dramatic declines in form.
It’s worth saying that Liverpool’s team deserve some leeway after the tragic death of Diogo Jota in July. This season should be free batting and should be largely exempt from criticism. I cannot understand what they will have to go through during the first few months of 2025 and 2026.
Gakpo has started 12 of Liverpool’s 13 games so far, but Slott’s preferred front three would be Salah, Isak and Hugo Ekitike if everyone is fit.
The 26-year-old Dutch international has scored in two of Liverpool’s last four Premier League defeats and is someone Slott is relying on heavily following the loss of Jota and the sale of Dias to Bayern.
Liverpool deserve praise for releasing Diaz, not criticism of Ferdinand
Bayern are expected to pay an initial £60.5m for Dias, with a further £5m to be paid in installments.
For a player who wanted to leave, and perhaps most importantly, Liverpool have given him a very lucrative deal, which reflects well on the attitude of Michael Edwards’ side.
Yes, Dias is a good player, but he was inconsistent at Liverpool, turning 29 in January and entering the final two years of his contract.
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Despite the circumstances, Manchester United legend Ferdinand says it was not “good business” to pay the Colombian player more than £65m.
“I think Diaz will leave, but I don’t know if it’s good business,” he said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
“I think he is a top player, Diaz. He was allowed to leave the club, but would they have a better player to replace him? Would Gakpo be better? I would say no, no chance.”
“They’re not functioning, they’re not playing very well. The new players that have come in have probably thrown the team a little bit out of balance with the way the coach is trying to play.”
Rio Ferdinand is completely wrong about Luis Diaz and Kodi Gakpo
The money involved in selling Dias was staggering from Liverpool’s point of view, but it proved to be a win-win move for all involved.
Dias has seven goals and four assists in 13 appearances for Bayern, which are impressive numbers, but he would not have been able to carry this Liverpool team on his own if he had stayed. They have big problems all over the pitch, in defense and defensive midfield.
Ferdinand is right about one thing. New players like Wirtz and Jeremy Frimpong mean the Reds are not functioning properly and look unbalanced. But that’s what everyone knows.
Selling Luis Diaz and Darwin Nuñez in the summer was a mistake.
Our offensive press is obviously down, and that’s hurting our structure.
At least these two knew how to press. And our team could have had a little more consistency.
— Watch LFC (@Watch_LFC) October 26, 2025
Gakpo is better than Diaz in terms of “no chance”, but that’s debatable. And it’s completely wrong to say that selling Diaz wasn’t good business.
Dias and Gakpo’s numbers in the Premier League are almost the same. He appeared in 103 games, played over 7,000 minutes, and recorded 29 points and 18 assists. In 100 games and over 5,700 minutes, the latter scored 28 points and provided 15 assists.
One of Diaz’s strengths is pressing, which may be lacking in the slot without Darwin Nunez.
But while they are hardly separated, with Bayern and Dias flying around and Liverpool and Gakpo stumbling, it’s very easy to create a narrative.
