Liverpool sources are reported to have denied a new claim from Portugal that Darwin Nunez is no longer starting due to a payment clause in his contract.
Nunez has not started since the 3-1 win over Southampton on March 8 and, with a sale expected this summer, reports in Portugal claimed this could be linked.
Newspaper A Bola – via Sport Witness – made the claim on Tuesday, with it suggested that Liverpool would be required to pay Benfica €5 million (£4.3m) on his 60th start across the Premier League and Champions League – which he is now one away from.
This is said to be due to the bonuses agreed in his club-record move from Benfica in 2022, with €5 million paid for his first 10 starts in those two competitions and €5 million for each of his next 25.
The Uruguayan has made 59 combined starts and it is claimed that one more would trigger another payout towards an eventual £85 million fee.
While this was held up as a reason why Arne Slot may no longer be considering starting Nunez, the Liverpool Echo have since quashed that – almost certainly from sources within the club.
Ian Doyle writes that “there is no suggestion the player is being omitted for financial reasons” after Liverpool “resisted big-money interest from Saudi Arabia in January to instead have the player as part of their plans for the second half of the season.”
A Bola‘s claim does not match up with previous reports from Portugal over the terms of Liverpool and Benfica’s deal either, with it otherwise understood that the majority of that £85 million fee had already been paid.
All indications are, then, that Nunez is simply being overlooked on sporting merit – that is despite the lack of goals from Diogo Jota, who has been preferred.
Of course it remains a difficult situation for the No. 9, who sat out the 2-1 win over West Ham as he “didn’t feel himself.”
Slot had previously claimed Nunez was ill, but later backtracked and explained that him not feeling himself “can mean multiple things” – though the head coach denied a rift with any of his staff.
“He did leave the pitch because he didn’t feel himself,” he told reporters, “as in he didn’t have words with a staff member.”
Liverpool did turn down advances from Saudi Arabia towards the end of the transfer window but all signs point to the 25-year-old heading to the Middle East in the summer with interest from Al-Hilal.
Nunez could make transfer exit days after season ends
With Al-Hilal taking part in this summer’s Club World Cup, it is not unrealistic to suggest talks could take place over a move in time for that tournament, which kicks off on June 14.
Clubs taking part in the expanded 32-team tournament are permitted to sign players in a brief window of June 1 to 10 before the usual transfer window, which for the Premier League falls between June 16 and September 1.
That means if Al-Hilal did make another approach for Nunez to secure his services before the Club World Cup he could leave Liverpool just days after their title celebrations.
Liverpool play their final game of the season against Crystal Palace on May 25 and their proposed title parade would take place the following day.
It raises the prospect of Nunez celebrating in front of half a million supporters in Liverpool on the Monday before finalising a switch to Saudi Arabia on the Sunday.
