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      Jake Humphrey reveals why he left BT Sport and opens up on awful bullying he ‘would not wish on worst enemy’

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      JAKE HUMPHREY has revealed he quit BT Sport for his family – as he launched an attack on social media abuse and recalled childhood bullying he “would not wish on my worst enemy”.The presenter says he “struggles with the modern world” and gets a stomach-wrenching feeling when he drops his kids off at school – due to the “nasty” treatment he received in the same setting.
      Jake Humphrey is glad to have stepped back from TV presentingCredit: Getty
      The broadcaster says his school dealt badly with his bullyingCredit: Getty
      The former Champions League broadcaster, 45, is now more focused on his High Performance podcast and also wrote How to Change Your Life.
      And he explained how he was “not always that comfortable” as a TV frontman, partly as “the lads-y banter thing is not for me”.
      The ex-BBC Formula One presenter admitted being ill at ease dealing with “firm opinions” on BT Sport, rather than more subtle debate.
      Humphrey told The Telegraph:  “I often felt I was doing High Performance all week, and empathy and understanding and leaning into people. Then, on Saturday, I was having conversations about sacking managers and dropping players, criticising decisions made by referees.
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      “I’d been dreaming for a long time, but not brave enough to take a leap.”
      He is also aghast at how toxic life online can be, having spoken out against “chauvinistic and nasty bullying” received by presenter Karen Carney.
      Humphrey said of trolling: “I think you would be a sociopath or something if it didn’t get through the armour sometimes.
      “I’ve always thought that if you just let this stuff go you are as complicit as anybody.
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      “The only place that reaction happens is on Twitter. No one has ever stopped me in the street and said it… I just feel exactly like I felt when I got bullied at school.”
      The former children’s game show presenter then relived some of the abuse he got at secondary school.
      He said: “When we drop the kids off, I still get the feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see them walking off with the bag over their shoulder.
      “It still triggers me to this day… God, the feeling of having to do that day after day after day, knowing what awaited. 
      “There were these two buses in the school car park and I’d go and sit in there on my own and just have my lunch.”
      Humphrey also believes his school’s handling of the matter only made him feel worse.
      He added: “At that age, particularly at that time, people didn’t really know how to deal with it. 
      “I was asked to stand up in assembly and the teacher said, ‘Can people stop bullying this guy?’ That just brings more heat.” More

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      Aaron Ramsdale and Harry Maguire need to deal with their cringey parents – Roy Keane wouldn’t have been molly-coddled

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      A MESSAGE to Aaron Ramsdale and Harry Maguire should they be reading this in the England team hotel before turning out to face Malta tonight.BBC Bitesize has a dedicated webpage on ‘how to deal with embarrassing parents’.
      England team-mates Aaron Ramsdale and Harry Maguire have been ‘defended’ by their parents in recent monthsCredit: The Times
      Ramsdale with his dad, who launched a scathing attack on Mikel ArtetaCredit: Instagram
      Roy Keane (left) wouldn’t have got his dad to fight his battles for himCredit: Getty
      YouTuber Raylee, aged 13, gives the inside track on how to deal with your cringey mum and dad when you are making the move to secondary school.
      It’s claimed most professional footballers have skipped that part of education but that is beside the point.
      What is important is the realisation that your folks can turn you red as a beetroot at any age – but there is help out there.
      Back in September, Maguire’s mum basically went to war with the rest of the country over the stick her son was getting because he wasn’t playing very well.

      Admittedly, a lot of it was over the top, unjustified and personal. And in the former Manchester United captain’s defence he stood ready to face his critics in public.
      Which must have made it even more excruciating when Mrs M went full rolling pin and declared the level of abuse her son was receiving as ‘totally unacceptable in any walk of life’ and ‘seeing him go through this is not OK’.
      Then this week, Aaron Ramsdale’s dad has picked up the baton of sour grapes and let rip at Mikel Arteta for not putting his little boy in the Arsenal team.
      Talking to ‘The Highbury Squad’ podcast, father Nick moaned: “The way it’s been done in my eyes, it’s wrong. But it’s the decision.”
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      Raging Ramsdale Sr adds that that nasty Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta did not give his lad advance warning that he was going to sign another keeper: David Raya from Brentford – and that competition for places was being racked up significantly.
      In today’s media-savvy world, elite footballers tend to have a team of advisers keeping them abreast of anything that is written or posted about them, often pre-empting debates by carefully placing stories.
      So are we to assume Messrs Maguire and Ramsdale knew full well that their parents were getting out the soap boxes? Or are they just as surprised as the rest of us?
      Either way, it’s hard to picture the brutes of yesteryear recruiting their nearest and dearest to fight their battles for them like today’s namby-pambies.
      Roy Keane and Duncan Ferguson were too busy breaking bones or spending time at Her Majesty’s pleasure in a Scottish prison to go running to mum and dad because things were a bit rough at work.
      The modern phrase for what was once casually labelled molly-coddling is ‘helicopter parenting’.
      Where every aspect of a child’s life is monitored to the ‘nth degree by paranoid parents who can’t bear to see their offspring suffer even the slightest setback.
      It’s generally restricted to the Home Counties where enraged tiger mums or apoplectic pushy dads tear up the driveway to their offspring’s public school in a monster 4×4 because he or she HASN’T been awarded a gold medal, OBE or Nobel Peace Prize that week.
      It’s hard to picture the brutes of yesteryear recruiting their nearest and dearest to fight their battles for them like today’s namby-pambiesAndrew Dillon
      Professional football is a rough, ruthless business. The clue might be in the fact that the players at the top level where it’s most cut-throat are paid an extortionate amount of money compared to Joe Public.
      Managers make unfair decisions because they are selfish – they have to be because it’s their neck on the line if things go t**s up.
      An old mate who coached at the highest level once told me: “When you are a manager, 11 players think you are brilliant. The rest think you are a c**t – and so do their wives, girlfriends, children, parents, aunts and uncles’.
      Fans are horrible. They will seize on the slightest weakness or dip in form and use it as fuel for the most unpalatable banter and for dishing out stick.
      That’s how it is and if you don’t like what I’m saying I’ll get my mum on to you.
      PROFESSIONAL FOWL
      ANYONE eating their lunch when reading about Andros Townsend’s brainwave to extend his career may struggle to keep their food down.
      The Luton winger, now 32, reckons eating chicken feet is a marvellous source of Collagen that could provide him with the ‘marginal gains’ needed to keep him viable as a footballer at the top level.
      It reminds me of that fad some years back whereby footballers paid a fortune to rub horse placentas on injuries at a weird clinic in Serbia.
      Apparently, the stench alone made them jump back up on their feet and scarper to get out of the room thereby curing any knocks.
      Andros Townsend has started eating chicken feet in a bid to extend his careerCredit: Rex
      Collagen is also a must-have for many thousands of menopausal women struggling with ‘the change’ just as Townsend is – although his are very different to those poor Mrs D is experiencing.
      So while it may help Townsend run a bit faster or cross a ball a bit better, he may also experience massive mood swings, tendency to gorge on chocolate and a lack of interest in sex.
      But at least he could become the only player at struggling Luton to get a sweat on.
      GREEN LIONS
      AS ENGLAND draw up logistical plans for their trip to the Euros in Germany next year, here’s an idea.
      With so much sports greenwashing around, why not Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate and the Football Association take a brave step and travel to the finals next summer by train?
      International tournaments, the Champions and Premier Leagues are directly and indirectly responsible for so much climate-changing CO2 that it would be great to see a major football nation buck the trend of making excuses for flying and go by greener-rail.
      Gareth Southgate and England could become green pioneers and take the train to next summer’s European Championship in GermanyCredit: PA
      MINNOW SORROW
      SAD to see Cray Valley Paper Mills succumb in their FA Cup first round replay to Charlton.
      It means that the oldest and still most tantalising cup competition in world football is running worryingly low on genuine non-League minnows.
      The only two games that really capture the imagination in the second round are Alfreton v Walsall and AFC Wimbledon v Ramsgate.
      There’s a serious chance that there won’t be any Davids left to face a Goliath in the third round come January. Boo.
      WIMBLEDON ON ANOTHER LEVEL
      THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB suffered a big setback this week with plans to expand its vast complex into neighbouring Wimbledon Park.
      Having seen their application for more courts and a new stand approved by the London Borough of Merton, next-door Wandsworth has served up a flat refusal to see 73 acres of land given over to the poshest sports tournament in the world.
      The wrangling is now set to drag on and from reports this week, the case is heading all the way up the political food chain to Michael Gove – the UK’s Levelling Up secretary.
      Levelling up? Isn’t that about providing the entire North of England with the odd train or finally getting electricity to Cleethorpes?
      Not sure Wimbledon, where it cost a whopping £11.20 for a pint of Pimms last summer, really falls into that category. More

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      I was scared when 40ft pylon fell on my car but England star Trent Alexander-Arnold comforted me…I keep replaying crash

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      A MUM was left terrified after a 40ft pylon fell on her car in an accident involving Trent Alexander-Arnold before the footballer comforted her.Louise Wright, 41, had just turned out on to a wet country lane near Knutsford, Cheshire, when a 40ft electric pylon smashed into her car last month – as first revealed in The Sun.
      England star Trent Alexander-Arnold rushed to help weeping mum after 40ft pylon fell on her car in Storm BabetCredit: SWNS
      Louise Wright, 41, was left horrified after the shocking incidentCredit: SWNS
      Bewildered and shocked, the mum-of-two noticed a Range Rover ahead of her and went to go and check on the driver  – finding out later it was the Liverpool ace Trent, 25.
      The shaken Liverpool star was seen getting out and making sure everything was ok.
      The high-voltage power line, weighing around half a ton, smashed down right in front of the England ace’s £90,000 Range Rover with Storm Babet causing 70mph winds.
      Louise, a stay-at-home mum, who lives near Knutsford, said: “I had just been to a gym class.
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      “I was turning out the junction at hardly any speed. There was this massive bang and the car stopped.
      “I could see there was a car in front that had crashed.
      “I thought  – ‘something bad has happened’.
      “I got out and went to the car.
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      “He opened the door and I asked if he was ok.
      “At the time I was running off adrenaline.
      “I broke down in tears when I got in the car with Gareth.
      “I keep replaying it. I might not be here if it had gone through the windscreen.”
      The pylon pierced Louise’s white BMW on the passenger side and she claims Alexander- Arnold’s car had damage on the front passenger side.
      Now Louise and her husband, Gareth, 40, say they face £650 in excess and high premium rates on their insurance for the next five to six years, following the crash.
      Louise and Gareth, a communications director, claim it wasn’t windy and are not certain the pylon came down because of Storm Babet.
      Gareth said: “It wasn’t windy that day but it was really wet.
      “If she’d been a metre forward it would have come through the windscreen.
      “She was really shaken by it.”
      Louise added: “It’s been quite a big stress for us as a family.”
      Police arrived on the scene shortly after the incident and gave Louise Alexander-Arnold’s insurance details.
      Gareth and Louise’s insurance company have written to Alexander-Arnold and are awaiting a response.
      They say the accident could cause them around a £1,000 a year on their insurance by making a claim.
      Luckily the car is repairable but will cost £16,800 to fix.
      It comes as Manchester United star Marcus Rashford rushed to help a woman driver after a horror crash in his £700,000 Rolls-Royce.
      The Prem striker had just left United’s Carrington base before the smash in September.
      Read More on The Sun
      He got out of the car without trouble and immediately went over to make sure the female driver was unhurt.
      Rashford and his teammates had returned from Turf Moor aboard a team coach.
      Trent Alexander-Arnold avoided death by inches after a 40ft electricity pylon was uprooted in treacherous 70mph windsCredit: Getty More

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      in Motorsport

      Ex-F1 engineer Rob Smedley launches new karting series for kids, with supporting cast that includes Idris Elba.

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      EX-F1 engineer Rob Smedley is trying to change the future of motorsport – with a little bit of help from Hollywood star Idris Elba.Smedley, who worked at Ferrari and Williams, has launched the Global Karting League, an electric go-kart series targeted at youngsters – whose parents don’t have deep pockets.
      Rob Smedley wants to do something ‘more purpose driven’ after leaving F1
      The Wire and Luther actor Idris Elba, seen here at the wheel of a Formula E racing car, is helping out the karting scheme via his academyCredit: Getty
      A junior karter gets to grips with the electric kart
      The series, which kicks off in the UK, will offer kids the chance to turn up and race electric go-karts for a fraction of the price of traditional petrol karts.
      Smedley, who is also working with the Idris Elba Speed Academy, hopes Global Karting League will give young racers the opportunity to reach F1 from different demographics.
      He said: “I’ve spent all my life in Formula One and when I stopped with the teams I wanted to do something more purpose driven.
      “One of the things that really interested me was how the majority of the drivers in F1 come from privileged backgrounds.
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      “And that only seemed to be getting more and more prevalent. I spent a lot of time looking at why and it comes down to grassroots level.
      “If you want to participate and be successful, you’ve got to have a huge budget and that’s just prohibitive. A huge barrier.
      “If you want to race at national level, you are getting into £100,000 and the next level and race in Europe, that’s £250,000 a year and it’s not open to anyone but ultra high net worth families.
      “We started with a blank sheet of paper and wanted to massively reduce the cost and complexity and that’s how the Global Karting League was born.
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      “It is about nurturing talent, creating a credible pathway through karting from the very grassroots and kids who’ve never done it before, to eventual world champions.”
      Smedley says that unlike football, many potential star drivers have never had the opportunity to try their hand at racing.
      He added: “If football was costing tens of thousands of pounds, we wouldn’t have found the immense talent across the years from different corners of the Earth.
      “You wouldn’t have found Leo Messi, you wouldn’t have found David Beckham, Paul Gascoigne or George Best.
      “We also have the Idris Elba Speed Academy. He’s somebody like myself who wants to give back.
      “He wants to represent those underrepresented communities. We had 400 kids try out and we filtered that down to 12 kids with the highest potential and put them into the Global Karting League, and they are all fully-funded.”
      One junior karter on the series is Sienna Greene, 15, from Coulsdon, who has the ambition of reaching F1.
      She said: “I first tried karting at a birthday party when I was about nine and I won and a little later I joined a cadet programme at my local track.
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      “Working with Idris has been fun. He’s a lovely person, and he’s really down to earth.
      “I prefer racing the electric karts to the petrol ones because if I do make a mistake, I find it easier to fix, compared to a petrol kart which takes longer to get back up to speed.” More

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      Luis Diaz’s mum holds back tears in emotional plea as she urges guerrilla kidnappers to release Liverpool star’s dad

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      LUIS Diaz’s mum fought back tears today as she urged her husband’s guerrilla kidnappers to release him from his eight-day ordeal.Cilenis Marulanda made her impassioned plea as she took part in a second march to demand Luis Manuel Diaz’s freedom.
      Liverpool’s Diaz (L) with his mum and dad Luis, who remains captiveCredit: Supplied
      Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with her husband’s face and the message “your family is waiting for you”, she told reporters: “I want them to release him now.
      “That the people who are keeping him free him now back to me, because we want to have him back home.”
      The 58-year-old was taken hostage at gunpoint alongside his wife on Saturday October 28 at a petrol station in Colombia.
      The kidnap by communist ELN rebels is believed to have been masterminded by a 40-year-old female fighter called Patricia.
      Colombian authorities have offered a reward of $200,000,000 Peso (£40,600) for Luis Diaz’s return.
      The kidnap sparked outrage in the South American nation, where Luis Diaz is immensely popular and plays for the national team.
      CCTV footage showed the Díazes being followed by men on motorbikes in their hometown of Barrancas, in the northern province of La Guajira.
      Gunmen then accosted the couple at a petrol station, leaving Cilenis, before police closed in.
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      Protests demanding Luis’s release took place in their home town today.
      Police have been combing the mountainous Serranía del Perijá area near the Venezuelan border for Diaz during a frantic week-long hunt.
      The horror meant Liverpool winger Diaz missed two games for his club but he appeared in Sunday’s fixture against Luton.
      Colombian authorities had offered a reward of $200,000,000 Peso (£40,600) for his returnCredit: AFP More

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      Major update in hunt for gang who kidnapped Liverpool star Luis Diaz’ parents as cops ‘closing the net’ on suspects

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      COLOMBIAN police say they are closing the net on the gang who kidnapped Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s parents after identifying some of the suspects.Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of the country’s Policia Nacional, said he was not in a position to name names.
      Colombian authorities have provided a major update in the search for the dad of Liverpool forward Luis DiazCredit: Rex
      Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing since Saturday after being kidnapped by armed gunmen in ColombiaCredit: AFP
      Diaz’s mother, Cilenis Marulanda, was also taken but was later rescued after being found in the city of Barrancas the same nightCredit: Supplied
      But he said investigators were “clear about people who could be linked” to Saturday’s abduction of Luis Manuel Diaz and Cilenis Marulanda in their home town of Barrancas.
      Mr Zapata confirmed investigators were treating the kidnap as a “premeditated crime” which had been meticulously planned.
      He added: “When something like this happens, it is generally not spontaneous and there has been previous planning, people that draw people to a certain place, that is, who place them somewhere so that others arrive and that’s what we are investigating.”
      He also spoke about the possibility that Luis Manuel was smuggled into Venezuela following the rescue of the Liverpool striker’s mum just hours after the abduction.
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      Mr Zapata said: “What we know is that the kidnap occurred in La Guajira and it’s close to the border of course.
      “We don’t have any evidence at the moment indicating he has been taken across the border, we can’t say that’s what’s happened, but we can’t rule it out either.
      “It’s very possible his captors look to the possibility of fleeing to Venezuela.”
      Appearing to support the idea the gang who have Luis Manuel are in hiding and have not managed to cross into Venezuela, Mr Zapata’s boss William Rene Salamanca Ramirez told Colombian media: “I can’t give any information on that and I want to be very prudent.
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      “I myself flew over an area you’d cross in and they would have to cross the Perija Mountains and I don’t think a human being could survive that.
      “We were trying to put some commando units into that area and we couldn’t because of the dense jungle vegetation.
      “An army blockade has been in place in the lower part of the mountains which would be the normal route into Venezuela.”
      Colombia’s Attorney General Francisco Barbosa had confirmed earlier it was possible the winger’s dad could already be across the border.
      He said Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro would be asked to help free Luis Diaz’s dad if it emerged that was the case.
      A reward of up to £40,000 has been offered by the authorities for information.
      A man described as the best friend of Luis Manuel Diaz told a Colombian radio station the footballer’s dad and his wife had been heading to the home of a relative of Cilenis.
      Victor Medina said: “It was 5.30pm local time on Saturday. They had filled up with petrol and then went to a neighbourhood nearby to collect something from a relative of Celinis.
      “There the captors arrived, four men on motorbikes.
      “They threatened them with weapons, made them get into the same vehicle and sped off with the other two on a motorbike tailing them.
      “They headed for a rural area. The authorities were informed and there was a chase.”Luis’ mum has yet to speak publicly about her ordeal.
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      She was abandoned by her captors by the roadside as the hunt to catch them intensified.
      The men holding the footballer’s father are said to have fled with him on motorbikes.
      Portuguese forward Diogo Jota held up Diaz’s shirt after scoring the opening goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on SundayCredit: EPA More

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      Cops still searching for Liverpool star Luis Diaz’s dad after terrifying kidnap in Colombia as mum rescued and freed

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      COPS are continuing their search for Luis Diaz’s dad after he and the Liverpool star’s mum were kidnapped in Colombia before she was freed.It comes after earlier reports suggested Luis Manuel Diaz was rescued during a police shootout that left two of his captors dead.
      Luis Diaz’s dad has reportedly been rescued after his parents were kidnapped in Colombia
      Luis Diaz in action for Liverpool in August 2022Credit: Getty
      The Liverpool FC striker’s parents were taken hostage on Saturday near their home in Barrancas, Colombia.
      It comes after his mum, Cilenis Marulanda, was freed from her captors and was pictured overnight enjoying a tearful reunion with relatives, with Diaz’s dad still reportedly missing.
      Liverpool FC released a statement today confirming it was aware of the ongoing situation involving Diaz’s parents.
      “It is our fervent hope that the matter is resolved safely and at the earliest possible opportunity,” they said.
      READ MORE ON LUIZ DIAZ
      “In the meantime, the player’s welfare will continue to be our immediate priority.”
      Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said it was a “worrying situation for all of us”.
      Colombian police have announced that they are prepared to reward anyone who will provide crucial information into the kidnapping of Diaz’s dad with £40,000.
      William Rene Salamanca Ramirez, the director general of Colombia’s National Police force, was today filmed speaking with the 26-year-old winger on his mobile phone from an undisclosed location in La Guajira where he travelled to after the kidnap took place.
      Most read in Football
      He told the footballer, referring to him by his nickname of Lucho: “Dear Lucho, you’re talking to William Salamanca the director of Colombia’s National Police.
      “I am here in La Guajira on the orders of Colombia’s President to lead and supervise the operation to rescue your father.
      “Last night we managed to rescue your mother and she is safe and well.
      “We are here and using all the air and land resources available with the support of the Colombian Army”.
      The police chief spoke to the Liverpool player after Colombia’s Ambassador to the UK Roy Barreras described the kidnap of Luis’ parents as “miserable” and said their liberation was being seen as a “national priority.”
      He said in a direct message to the captors after it was confirmed Cilenis had been rescued but Luis Manuel Diaz was still missing amid fears he was already in Venezuela: “Mr kidnappers: In addition to a heinous crime, you have committed a terrible mistake!
      “You have offended the flag of Colombia, the shirt that I am sure you have also worn to shout the goals of the Colombian National Team that unites us all.
      “You still have time. Avoid a greater tragedy. It will turn out badly for you! Correct the error Free Lucho Díaz’s father now.”
      The Colombian army said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday: “Army troops support the search operation for the parents of soccer player Luis Díaz, who apparently are victims of kidnapping.”
      Diaz has not been included in Liverpool’s squad to face Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
      Local media in the La Guajira region earlier reported the footballer’s dad had been freed following a shootout with police which resulted in the deaths of two of the four kidnappers.
      The incident is said to have happened near an area called Los Barrancones as the captors headed towards Colombia’s border with Venezuela.
      They reportedly had the intention of smuggling him into the neighbouring country.
      But there has not yet been any official confirmation, however, that Luis Diaz’s dad has been rescued.
      The reports emerged as a man described as the best friend of Luis Manuel Diaz told a Colombian radio station the footballer’s dad and his wife had been heading to the home of a relative when they were taken hostage at a petrol station.
      Victor Medina said: “It was 5.30pm local time on Saturday.
      “They had filled up with petrol and then went to a neighbourhood nearby to collect something from a relative of Celinis.
      “There the captors arrived, four men on motorbikes.
      “They threatened them with weapons, made them get into the same vehicle and sped off with the other two on a motorbike tailing them. They headed for a rural area.
      “The authorities were informed and there was a chase.”
      Responding to claims there was an exchange of gunfire before Cilenis was rescued, Medina said: “I haven’t had the chance to speak to her yet.
      “It’s a difficult situation. She’s back at home with doctors because we know she arrived quite distressed after what has been a trauma for her.
      “We’re just waiting for everything to calm down a bit before we speak with her.”
      He added: “Luis Manuel Diaz is a person who is much loved in Barrancas and there’s never been any talk of threats.
      “He and his family are highly appreciated in this municipality and that is why he always felt calm and safe here.
      “But there is always going to be someone who wants to harm a family, a family which is bringing a lot of glory and a lot of recognition to Barrancas.
      “The general public rejects acts like this targeting a much-loved and respected family in our municipality.”
      Diaz is Colombia’s biggest star and has scored nine goals in 43 appearances for the national side.
      His father previously revealed the Liverpool ace suffered from an illness which caused him to lose a dangerous amount of weight.
      The tricky winger went from “chubby” to extremely skinny which could’ve cost him his life.
      Diaz was born and raised in the heartland of Colombia’s largest indigenous community.
      His football skills impressed scouts, including Colombia legend Carlos Valderrama.
      After scoring seven goals at the 2015 Copa Sudamericana de Pueblos Indigenas, Diaz’s career began to take off.
      Read More on The Sun
      Atletico Junior sent him on loan to Barranquilla, where he was put on a special diet to gain 10kg.
      Diaz crossed the Atlantic to join Porto in 2019, before moving to Liverpool in January 2022.
      The Liverpool ace’s parents were taken near their home while on their way to a relatives houseCredit: Getty More

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      Jude Bellingham’s incredible dream to play for BARCELONA leaked… hours before Real Madrid star plays in El Clasico

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      JUDE BELLINGHAM had the one dream you keep secret before your El Clasico debut.That’s if a school ‘snitch’ is to be believed!
      Judging by his expression in training as Real Madrid prepare for El Clasico against Barcelona, perhaps Jude Bellingham knows his ‘guilty secret’ is outCredit: EPA
      Bellingham’s head was in the clouds if this display board is true
      The new £115m Real star has amazing stats in his first LaLiga campaignCredit: Reuters
      Revealing that Bellingham loved Adam Sandler movies might be considered embarrassing enough.
      But the kid who claims he was a Year 10 colleague of Real Madrid’s new hero also insisted England’s hottest talent wanted to play for BARCELONA.
      Bellingham lines up at Real’s fiercest rivals on Saturday after 11 goals in 12 games since his £115million arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
      The midfielder was signed more for his all-round gifts than his strike rate.
      READ MORE TOP STORIES
      So the 20-year-old has made a staggering start to his career in Spain by anyone’s standards.
      But – according to a TikTok post from a ‘school-mate’ – Bellingham had OPPOSITE plans for his life in LaLiga when he was aged about 10.
      Photos uploaded to the social media site include a display board disclosing the kids’ fantasies for the future.
      And a scrapbook is notable for a photo apparently of the ex-Birmingham ace, captioned: “Point of view: You went to primary school with Jude Bellingham.”
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      The young Brummie is outed as an admirer of Sandler – who by then had featured in The Wedding Guy and The Waterboy but has more recently had top roles in Hustle and Uncut Gems.
      Bellingham is said to have listed talking too much as a bad habit – ironic as he seems so mature, relaxed and natural in interviews.
      And then came the killer confession under a section headed: “When I grow up I want to be…”
      In the top right the purported answer from Bellingham is: “A professional footballer for Barcelona and England.”
      If true, it was certainly a dream of two halves.
      He’s already won 27 caps after becoming the Three Lions’ third-youngest player ever – aged 17 years and 136 days against the Republic of Ireland in November 2020 aged 17.
      But playing for Barca at any stage would be a sensational development after he joined ‘El Clasico enemies’ Real in June this year. More