Darwin Nunez officially leaves Liverpool, goes to Saudi Arabia to compete with Ronaldo

Liverpool said: “Darwin Nunez has completed a transfer to Al Hilal. The move is subject to him obtaining an international licence. The club would like to thank Darwin for his contribution and wish him and his family all the best for the future.”

In Saudi Arabia, Al Hilal also sent a message of welcome to Darwin Nunez: "Nunez has just joined Al Hilal and he is currently on a pre-season training trip in Germany. He is one of the most outstanding players in Europe in recent years. He won the Premier League with Liverpool in the 2024/25 season, won the 2024 League Cup and the 2022 Community Shield."

"He also played for Benfica, where he was named the best player in the Portuguese league in 2021/22. Darwin Nunez finished the season as the top scorer with 26 goals. Internationally, Nunez has played 35 times for the Uruguay national team, scoring 13 goals."

The deal brought Liverpool £46m. But they still lost a lot compared to the investment they made in Darwin Nunez. 3 years ago, Liverpool spent £65m to recruit the Uruguayan striker. However, the deal turned out to be a disappointment, when he only scored 25 goals in 95 appearances for The Kop.

The Uruguay international’s playing time continued to decline in the 2024/25 season under new coach Arne Slot. Although he made 30 appearances, only 8 of them were from the starting line-up. Nunez scored just 7 goals in all competitions, more than half the number from the previous season.

That is why Liverpool decided to sell the 26-year-old striker. He will go to Al Hilal to compete with Cristiano Ronaldo. Next season, the Saudi Arabia championship race will certainly be more fierce. Al Nassr is confident with Mane, Felix, Ronaldo, Al Hilal has Nunez, Mitrovic while Al Ittihad operates with the trio of Steven Bergwijn, Karim Benzema and Moussa Diaby.