Darwin Nunez is now overseas with Uruguay ahead of appearing in the Copa America following a tough second season at Liverpool.
“I couldn’t take it anymore and I wanted to leave.”
You may be excused for fearing. Darwin Nunez said such things about his Liverpool future, despite the tumultuous nature of his Reds tenure so far. It is unavoidable that he has come under heightened scrutiny in recent months, following a disappointing end to the season that saw him lose his starting spot and deal with growing opposition.
After missing a clear chance in Liverpool’s win over Tottenham Hotspur in early May, he sparked outrage online by deleting all of his Reds-related Instagram photos, limiting who may comment, and blocking some Twitter accounts. Meanwhile, he would later open up about dealing with the abuse he experiences.
There has been added uncertainty about his future at Anfield ever since, especially given a managerial change, even though Liverpool reportedly has no desire to let him go and new head coach Arne Slot, who already has a strong track record of transforming the fortunes of his forwards, is said to be eager to work with the striker.
Fortunately, the aforementioned comment, delivered in the Premier League’s most recent episode of ‘Ask Me Anything’, is historical in origin. Rather than referring to his Liverpool difficulties, it is a reference to when he damaged his ACL as a youngster while playing for Penerol in his native Uruguay, having previously experienced with homesickness after joining the Montevideo club.
“It happened to me when I was 19,” he explained to Reds teammates Alexis MacAllister and Luis Diaz. “I believed I’d never be able to continue playing football.
“My knee had been ailing for a year and a half. I couldn’t stand it any longer and wanted to go.
His injury came up as the trio expressed their greatest fears in response to fan-submitted questions, with Mac Allister sharing that his would be ‘not being able to play football anymore, be it due to an accident or an injury.’
Nunez’s response to the same question, however, may provide a new signal about his future with Liverpool.
“Failure really hurts, doesn’t it?” He agreed with Diaz that “failing at some point at what you do, want to do, or dream about doing” was his greatest fear.
Such an admission raises the question of how Nunez considers his Reds career to date, and how it may influence any future decisions.
The Uruguayan has endured scrutiny since he joined Liverpool in the summer of 2022 for a club-record £85 million. Such a high charge insured that he has always had a bullseye on his back, through no fault of his own.
The Uruguayan has been unplayable at times over the last two seasons, scoring 33 goals and providing 17 assists in 96 games. However, he struggled from niggling injuries at times and was particularly inefficient in front of goal.
He has missed 46 huge chances in the Premier League during his Reds career, with only Erling Haaland missing more (62 good chances). Despite his missed opportunities, the Norwegian has 63 Premier League goals from just 66 appearances (compared to Nunez’s 20 from 65 games) and two league titles.
Following a disappointing conclusion to the season in which he lost his starting spot and his only goal in his final 13 appearances came off his backside while chasing down the goalkeeper, everyone and his dog has had an opinion on Nunez’s abilities and future.
Unsurprisingly, there is widespread disagreement about whether he can live up to his potential at Liverpool, or if the Reds should consider cutting their losses. After all, misfiring attackers don’t have more than two seasons at Anfield to change the narrative, despite large transfer fees, and many leave much sooner.
Christian Benteke, Mario Balotelli, Andy Carroll, Robbie Keane, Djibril Cisse, El Hadji Diouf, and Stan Collymore are all Premier League players that left the club quickly. Rickie Lambert, Iago Aspas, Milan Jovanovic, and Fernando Morientes are also members for lower fees, while Andriy Voronin and Fabio Borini were later released after leaving on loan.
Only Collymore and Cisse have scored more than 15 goals for the club, and more than ten in the Premier League, with the Reds showing little patience for an underperforming attacker.
For the record, Nunez has already outscored everyone save Collymore (35 goals, 26 in the Premier League) to prove that, despite some critics’ claims, he is not a big-money failure. Nonetheless, the striker may have a summer of sliding doors.
He is now overseas with Uruguay for the Copa America and will miss the majority of Liverpool’s first pre-season under new boss Slot. While this could leave him playing catch-up under the Dutchman heading into the new season, he could also return full of confidence and in good form, having already ended his long drought, which dates back to mid-March if we count only intentional goals, by scoring a hat-trick in a warm-up friendly win over Mexico.
Nunez is not a Liverpool failure, but if his Reds career ended prematurely, that is how he may be remembered.
The 24-year-old is suffering and has a point to make. And he is a combatant made of many materials. If he had succumbed to homesickness or injury in Penerol, he would have followed through on his first wish to leave. If he had left Benfica after a difficult first season, he would not have earned the big-money move to Liverpool.
