DARWIN NUNEZ faces a make-or-break World Cup after being frozen out of Saudi club Al Hilal earlier this year.
The Uruguayan forward finds himself in the shop window as he eyes a return to Europe this summer.
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Darwin Nunez was removed from Al Hilal’s league squad in February Credit: Getty
He now goes to the World Cup desperate to prove a point Credit: Getty
Nunez‘s career on Saudi sands seems to be over as quickly as it began after he was removed from Al Hilal’s league squad following the signing of French marksman Karim Benzema in February.
Rules on foreign players meant he wasn’t registered for the second half of the 2025–26 season.
And having not played a football match since February, Nunez was dropped to the bench for both of Uruguay‘s pre-World Cup friendlies against England and Algeria.
The Premier League winner will be desperate to make his mark and exact some revenge as Uruguay face Saudi Arabia tonight in their Group H opener.
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However, Federico Vinas of LaLiga club Real Oviedo seems to be the first choice for gaffer Marcelo Bielsa, with Nunez, who hasn’t scored for his country for almost two years, sidelined recently.
But where exactly did it all go wrong for the ex-Liverpool man?
If we cast our minds back to the summer of 2022, Jurgen Klopp signed the promising Uruguayan for a reported fee of £64million, potentially rising to £84m, from Portuguese side Benfica.
It was the same summer that Man City secured Norwegian monster Erling Haaland for £13m less than Nunez’s fee.
Nunez managed just six goals in the Saudi Pro League before being ousted Credit: Getty
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After Pep’s City beat Klopp’s Liverpool to the Premier League title by one point in the 2021-22 season, the clubs’ reinforcements up top led to a debate – Haaland v Nunez.
Hindsight has since proven this debate to be a totally ridiculous one.
Nunez drew first blood as he headed in the winner against Haaland’s City in the Community Shield, immediately winning over the Anfield faithful.
He soon found himself in the headlines again as he was sent off in the first home game of the season for a petulant headbutt on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen.
Despite a whirlwind start, Nunez finished the season with a modest nine Premier League goals.
Meanwhile, Haaland, who he was pitted against in pre-season, notched four times his tally with a staggering 36 league goals, putting any debates firmly to bed.
The following season, Nunez vacated No27 for the iconic No9 previously worn by the likes of Roberto Firmino and Fernando Torres.
He would go on to earn 21 goal contributions for the Reds with 11 goals and ten assists in the Prem.
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But it was 2024-25, Liverpool’s title-winning season, that Nunez saw his career begin to decline.
Following the arrival of Dutch boss Arne Slot from Feyenoord, the star’s game time decreased rapidly.
He started a mere eight Premier League games and only avoided the bench once after the turn of the year.
As a result, he managed just five league goals and was seen as surplus to requirements in Liverpool’s title-winning Slot machine.
Liverpool pulled the plug in August 2025, as Saudi club Al Hilal secured Nunez for a reported £46m and a hefty £400k a week contract.
But the ex-Red took his 2024-25 form with him to the Middle Eastern money pit.
He had managed six league goals before being brutally ousted from Al Hilal’s league squad to make way for French star Benzema.
And having not played since February, Nunez, who was once called Luis Suarez‘s successor, was dropped to the not so familiar Uruguay bench ahead of the World Cup.
With his Al Hilal career all but over, recent reports have suggested he wants a return to Europe, and he couldn’t have a better opportunity than a World Cup to show what he can really do.
However, whether he even gets the chance is another matter, having seemingly tumbled down the pecking order for both club and country, although fellow striker Vinas suggested Bielsa might start with two strikers, indicating Nunez might have a starting role.
Nunez’s Uruguay kick-off their World Cup campaign tonight against none other than his reluctant employers Saudi Arabia at Miami Stadium.
Who starts up-top for Bielsa in game one will be fascinating.
