Darwin Núñez: From Liverpool Record Signing to Al-Hilal Standstill
Darwin Núñez’s Liverpool return is fading before it ever really came into focus.
The former Anfield record signing, now 27 and marooned at Al-Hilal, is expected to be on the move again once his World Cup duties with Uruguay are over. But the door he once walked through with such fanfare on Merseyside looks set to stay shut.
From record signing to Saudi standstill
Núñez left Liverpool last summer for Al-Hilal in a deal worth an initial £46 million, lured by a contract reported at around £400,000 per week. It was the kind of money that suggested he would become a centrepiece of the Saudi project.
Instead, his season has stalled.
He has barely featured since February. When Al-Hilal completed the signing of Karim Benzema, Núñez’s status crumbled further, with the Uruguayan de-listed from the domestic squad and pushed to the fringes.
The lack of football has not gone unnoticed back home. Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa is understood to have harboured concerns over Núñez’s condition for some time, reportedly believing the striker has “physically deteriorated” during this prolonged spell of inactivity.
For a player who once terrorised defences with raw pace and relentless movement, that is a damning assessment.
Liverpool cool on reunion
Given his situation, Al-Hilal are said to be ready to rip up Núñez’s lucrative deal to ease a return to Europe. That could mean a free transfer or a heavily reduced fee – the kind of opportunity that usually tempts elite clubs into a calculated gamble.
Liverpool, though, are not biting.
Reports suggest the outgoing Premier League champions are unconvinced about rolling the dice on a player they know intimately. The concerns are obvious: form, fitness, and the risk of trying to revive a career that has stalled in a league far from Europe’s intensity.
So while Núñez may be available, he is no longer seen at Anfield as the answer. He is a question someone else will have to solve.
Milan move gathers pace
That someone might be AC Milan.
Rúben Amorim’s side are now emerging as serious contenders for Núñez’s signature, with Italian outlet Milan Vibes claiming that early contact has already been made with players at the World Cup – Núñez among them.
The numbers are the first obstacle. A salary of around €2 million per month is currently beyond Milan’s structure. For any deal to happen, the wage packet that lured him to Saudi Arabia will have to be torn up along with the contract.
Milan Vibes outlines two possible routes. One is a permanent transfer at a fee “significantly lower” than what Al-Hilal paid Liverpool, which would then allow the Rossoneri to reshape the salary to fit within their pay scale. That scenario becomes even more attractive if Rafael Leão, who currently occupies the club’s top wage bracket, were to leave.
The other is a loan move with Al-Hilal still contributing to Núñez’s salary. That option is described as “highly unlikely” – a reminder that even in a depressed market for Saudi-based stars, there are limits to how much a club will subsidise a player they no longer trust.
A second chance in Serie A?
Núñez has been here before, at least in theory. Milan tracked him during his Liverpool days, and he is also reported to regret missing out on a move to Serie A with Napoli last summer.
This time, the stakes are sharper.
He is no longer the explosive, expensive project arriving from Benfica, but a forward fighting to prove he hasn’t slipped beyond the edge of Europe’s elite. The talent that once convinced Liverpool to break their transfer record has not vanished, yet the questions around his physical state and rhythm grow louder with every week on the sidelines.
Liverpool have made their judgement. They will look elsewhere.
Milan now have a decision of their own: is Darwin Núñez a reclamation project worth bending their wage structure for, or a risk that belongs to someone braver – or more desperate – in this summer’s market?
