Liverpool's Season: Nunez's Departure and FSG's Ticket Price U-Turn
Liverpool’s season is still alive on two fronts: on the pitch and in the boardroom.
With three games left and Champions League qualification still hanging in the balance, the club has been forced to confront two big stories – a high-profile former striker edging towards a Premier League return, and a sharp climbdown from the owners after fan fury over ticket prices.
Nunez’s Saudi gamble unravels
Darwin Nunez left Anfield last summer with a sense of unfinished business. Signed in 2022 for £64million and burdened with expectations he never quite met, the Uruguayan was moved on to Al-Hilal for around £46m as Liverpool reshaped their attack.
Less than a year later, that chapter is already closing.
Nunez has agreed to leave the Saudi Pro League side at the end of the season, having been brutally cut from their squad in February. The turning point came in January, when Karim Benzema arrived and Al-Hilal moved to comply with foreign player regulations that cap the number of overseas players born before 2003 in a 25-man squad at eight.
Nunez, who had started brightly in Riyadh, was deregistered and then left on the outside looking in. He has not played a minute since.
The pressure finally told. An agreement is now in place that will allow him to walk away at the end of the campaign, and if his contract is formally terminated he will hit the market as a 26-year-old free agent – a rare commodity in modern football.
Liverpool will not be going back for him. That door is closed. But the Premier League may not be.
Newcastle United and Chelsea are tracking the situation, attracted by the prospect of a powerful, experienced forward available without a transfer fee. Juventus are also in the frame as they weigh up life after Dusan Vlahovic, who could yet move on.
The scramble for Nunez will unfold as Liverpool reshape their own front line again. Alexander Isak is expected to spearhead the attack when the new season kicks off, a tantalising prospect if he can finally stay fit.
The Swedish striker’s time at Anfield so far has been staccato, broken up by a leg fracture and niggling issues that have denied him any real rhythm. Now he has recovered and is set for a full pre-season, with Hugo Ekitike sidelined and a clear runway to make the role his own in 2026/27.
For Nunez, the question is who will gamble next. For Liverpool, it is whether Isak can deliver the goals that once were meant to come from the Uruguayan.
FSG forced into reverse by Anfield backlash
While Arne Slot wrestles with the run-in – Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brentford standing between Liverpool and a top-five finish – a different kind of battle has been raging in the stands.
Fenway Sports Group thought they could map out ticket prices until 2030. Supporters told them otherwise.
The club’s plan was blunt: fixed ticket price increases for years to come, justified publicly by rising inflation and operating costs. The reaction was immediate and fierce. Banners appeared on the Kop and around Anfield. Placards, leaflets, chants against FSG. Matchdays turned into a rolling protest.
The message landed.
Executives sat down with fan groups, including the influential Spirit of Shankly, and the owners have now pulled back. The original long-term hike has been shelved. Instead, general admission prices will rise by three per cent next season, but then be frozen for the following two campaigns.
In a statement, Liverpool framed it as a chance to find a better way. The club and the Supporters Board, they said, will use the certainty of those three seasons to chase “longer-term alternative solutions” across the game, explore new commercial ideas, and try to protect affordability and accessibility for future generations.
The warning line remained. Without progress on those alternatives, the club still believes future inflationary increases may be required, including in 2028/29. Dialogue, they insisted, will continue, as will the effort to manage costs responsibly while keeping Liverpool competitive at the top end of European football.
Spirit of Shankly responded with cautious acceptance. The group acknowledged that some fans will still be angry about any rise at all next season, but pointed to the freeze that follows and promised to keep pushing the club to avoid more increases down the line.
They stressed that matchday culture has been at the heart of the discussions and vowed, as part of the Supporters Board, to protect it. They also thanked those inside Liverpool who engaged and listened – a pointed reminder that not every ownership group does – and, crucially, the supporters who handed out leaflets, protested and refused to stay quiet.
The U-turn underlines a familiar truth at Anfield: when fans organise and hold the line, they can move the club.
As Slot’s side chase the points they need against Chelsea, Villa and Brentford, Liverpool’s immediate future feels precarious. Champions League football for 2026/27 is within reach but not secure. Off the pitch, the owners have been reminded that the cost of watching this team is not theirs to dictate alone.
The next few weeks will show whether the power on the pitch can match the power in the stands.
