Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is on the verge of sealing a £53million move to Saudi Arabia – and to many fans it comes as no surprise.
The Uruguayan will join Al-Hilal having made it clear to Liverpool officials earlier in the summer that he saw his future away from Anfield.
Nunez had asked to leave Liverpool as far back as January, when he was again the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, but they took the decision to keep him for the remainder of the campaign so he could play a part in the successful title pursuit.
It is reported that the 26-year-old will earn a staggering £400,000-a-week at the big spending club.
This would almost triple his reported £140,000-a-week wages at Liverpool.
Fans have now noticed that it has been the forward’s desire to move to the Middle East for sometime after an interview from February resurfaced.
Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is on the verge of a £53million move to Al-Ahli
The Uruguayan hinted his interest in moving to Saudi Arabia during an interview in February
Nunez will reportedly received a £400,000-a-week wage should he move to Al-Hilal
In a lighthearted episode of Pro Direct’s ‘Teammates’ series, Nunez and Luis Díaz gave fans a glimpse into their personalities off the pitch – kicking things off with some playful jabs about their car collections.
When Díaz playfully mocked Nunez’s taste in cars, the striker fired back with a laugh and a wink to the camera: ‘What car here? I need more money!’
The jokes didn’t stop there. After the host suggested Núñez should ask Díaz to pass him the ball more often to rack up goal bonuses, Núñez leaned into the humor, replying: ‘Saudi. Come on, Saudi. Ring ring.’
Reacting to the video, one fan wrote on X: ‘I remember this was thinking about it when I saw the announcement. Fair play he has an extended family now so he wants to provide them with the best life’.
Another wrote: ‘Happy for him though. It’s a sport but also a job. Dude will make a killing in Saudi.’
A third added: ‘Now that they’re both gone (chasing more money, by the way) can we talk about how completely insane it was that this video came out in the middle of the season and no one blinked an eye? haha’.
Speculation surrounding Nunez has swirled for much of this year, with Al-Nassr seeing a bid rejected in January.
Napoli also expressed an interest but they refused to meet Liverpool’s valuation, while AC Milan are another side understood to considered an approach.
Nunez had arrived at Liverpool from Benfica but has struggled to live up to his £85m transfer fee.
The frontman has scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for the Reds, but has faced criticism throughout his spell for a series of missed chances.
Last season, he netted just seven goals and registered four assists in his 45 appearances across all competitions.
Nunez was limited to just eight starts in the Premier League during their title winning campaign.
