Darwin Nunez made his way to Anfield in 2020 after impressing during his brief stint in Portugal with SL Benfica. He isn’t the most explosive or flashy player, but Nunez always seems to be in the right places at the right time. This was one of the reasons he could score 48 goals and make 16 assists in 85 games while representing the European club. Liverpool were already looking to sign Nunez but the two games where he scored against Jurgen Klopp’s team did the magic.
During the 21/22 season, Benfica faced Liverpool in the UCL quarterfinals. Nunez scored the team’s only goal against the away team. The English club won the tie 3-1. But Nunez and Benfica were on their A-game when they traveled to England for the second leg. They managed to hold Liverpool off to a draw at their fortress, including an 82nd-minute consolation goal from Nunez. The draw wasn’t enough for Benfica to qualify for the next stage.
Liverpool signed the striker just weeks later, to replace Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino. Sadio Mane also left the club, which broke the famous trio including Mohamed Salah. Klopp intended to build another lethal frontline with the signing of Nunez and Luis Diaz. But it hasn’t all gone well. Nunez has been decent this season, scoring 18 goals in all competitions.
Darwin Núñez in the Prem:
3,709 minutes
48 big chances missed
49 offsidesHe either misses a big chance or gets called offside once every 38 minutes on the pitch. pic.twitter.com/wDXR7m2m6d
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) May 6, 2024
Despite the number of goals he has scored, fans have criticized the player heavily. As Statmuse claims, Nunez seems to be missing a big chance or getting flagged for offside every 38 minutes. This will be a stat that any striker would want to stay away from.
Darwin Nunez is currently linked to FC Barcelona
Some reports claim that the Catalan giants were interested in signing Nunez to replace the aging Robert Lewandowski. However, the Polish striker recently confirmed that he would be staying in Spain, which automatically puts all reports of Nunez’s arrival to bed.
Barcelona reportedly want to sign Darwin Núñez from Liverpool this summer pic.twitter.com/VqBqO29qmC
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) May 5, 2024
But this wouldn’t be the first time that Barcelona was interested in signing the striker. Before he joined Benfica, the La Liga club had Nunez on their radar. Luis Suarez, his countryman and club legend himself, even tried to persuade Barca to secure Nunez’s signature.
Suarez told Sportbible in 2021, “When he was at Almeria, I said it at Barca. They asked me and I said ‘look after this guy, he’s very interesting’, but they said no, he’s in Almeria, he’s very young. But instead of paying now 80, 90, or 100 million, they would have paid 15 or 20 [million].”
Liverpool broke the bank to sign the star, paying more than $100 million. Barcelona had the chance to sign the player for less than one-fifth of that price tag but the reason as to why they said no to Suarez’s suggestion remains a mystery.
Nunez sends a cryptic message on Instagram amidst heavy scrutiny
Now that Barcelona might not be on Nunez’s tail anymore, there might not be any talks of a potential transfer. But it looks like the player is still making the headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. The striker has removed all Liverpool-related posts from his Instagram page, after facing some heavy online backlash.
Darwin Nunez has deleted all Liverpool FC related photos from his Instagram 😓
We hope the Uruguayan is okay ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6B6d9nDoKX
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 6, 2024
He has been quite decent for the team this season, playing a pivotal role in their Premier League journey until now. Although it looks like the title has slipped away from Liverpool’s hands, a top-three finish despite an injury-plagued season should be something the club and its fans should be proud of.