Darwin Nunez transfer news: Liverpool agree £56.6m deal to sell Uruguayan striker to Al Hilal
Darwin Nunez set to end three-year stay at Liverpool after club agree deal with Al Hilal worth up to £56.6m; Uruguayan forward scored 40 goals in 143 appearances at Anfield; Reds set to make eight-figure loss on player who signed for initial £64m plus significant add-ons
Thursday 7 August 2025 11:03, UK
Liverpool have reached an agreement with Al Hilal for the sale of Darwin Nunez.
The Saudi Pro League club have offered a fixed fee of £46.2m (€53m) plus add-ons that could take the deal to £56.6m (€65m). The Reds paid Benfica £65.6m (€75m) guaranteed when Nunez joined the club in 2022, with additional bonuses.
It is understood that Liverpool are yet to be informed that Nunez has given his green light to the move.
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Sky in Italy are reporting that Al Hilal are prepared to meet Nunez's wage demands.
AC Milan were interested and made an approach, but were unlikely to ever match these figures. A bid from Napoli was rejected earlier in the window - not only because the valuation fell short, but also due to proposed payment terms that would have deferred any funds until summer 2026, to be paid over a five-year period.
Nunez came close to leaving in January 2025, having pushed for the club to act upon serious and significant interest - also from the Saudi league - during that window.
Liverpool held firm and rejected that approach, prioritising the campaign for a historic 20th league title. Nunez made valuable contributions in several key fixtures following that decision.
This summer, Nunez and his representatives reiterated their desire for a transfer. The player returned to pre-season in excellent shape and produced encouraging performances in early matches.
Assuming the deal is completed, Liverpool will explore the market for an additional attacking player, but only if key criteria are met. It includes, but is not restricted to, a player must be of sufficient quality to start, that represents fair market value and must be realistically attainable.
Should Nunez leave Anfield he will do so having scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for the club since a 2022 move from Benfica, which initially cost the Reds £64m at the time.
Despite scoring 18 goals in Jurgen Klopp's final season he managed only seven last term under Arne Slot, though did bag two vital stoppage-time goals to give Liverpool a 2-0 win at Brentford in January.
Analysis: Will Liverpool be sad to lose Nunez?
South American football expert Tim Vickery:
"I would be very sorry to lose him. He's a player that always gives you something and I'm still hoping Nunez can evolve this move in another direction.
"He's Uruguay's cutting edge. His record for Uruguay is very good indeed. He's an optimist of the goal - he's always trying, always putting himself around, running into the channels.
"Although there are some Liverpool fans who have a resistance to him, there are many who really appreciate his efforts.
"This year, going into the World Cup, it's an important move to make and he may come to the conclusion that going to Saudi will leave him fresher for the World Cup, but he would be a loss to the Premier League."
Should Liverpool sign Isak with Nunez set to leave?
Jamie Carragher says he wants Liverpool to sign Alexander Isak from Newcastle, but has questioned whether the club should be spending such big money.
Earlier in August, Liverpool made an initial bid of £110m plus add-ons, Sky Sports News reported. However, the total offer did not reach £120m, with the Magpies valuing the striker at £150m.
Liverpool have also signed Hugo Ekitike this summer, who can also play as a No 9, and Carragher says splashing out on the forward to have him potentially be a back-up 'doesn't sit right' with him.
Speaking on The Overlap, he said: "It will be an amazing signing. But from a Liverpool fan point of view, I don't want the club to spend £150m on Isak.
"I could probably imagine that he was Liverpool's No 1 target but there's something about Liverpool buying a striker [Ekitike] for £80m and he's a back-up. There's something about it that doesn't sit right to me.
"I look at Isak, he's obviously thrown his toys out of the pram once Arsenal and Liverpool signed a striker. From him and his agent's point of view, did they not tell Newcastle months ago that they wanted to move on? It just seems a little bit messy."
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