Why Benfica couldn't wait to sell Darwin Nunez to Liverpool
Karan Tejwani
- 12 Sept 2022 09:35 BST
- 3 min read
Liverpool spent big to sign Darwin Nunez, and it was one of the most expensive transfers of the summer window as they brought the forward to Anfield from Benfica.
Nunez had a fine season in 2021/22, scoring 34 goals in 41 appearances for the Portuguese side, even helping them reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
There were several clubs interested in signing Nunez, but Liverpool moved quick to sign the Uruguayan forward, forking out a package worth around €100 million, including any potential add-ons.
Benfica have now said that offer was too good to turn down in the current state of the transfer market and they had to accept it, with Nunez having starred over the course of the last year.
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Nunez fee was hard to turn down
The Portuguese giants were reportedly reluctant to sell Nunez and were happy to refuse potential interest, but when Liverpool’s offer came in, it was difficult to turn down, according to club President Rui Costa.
Speaking to Benfica’s in-house media channel, Costa spoke about the transfer and the fee the club received: “We are talking about one of the highest transfers of the market.
“We are still coming out of a pandemic situation, which held back the football market. Making a sale of €75 million plus €25 million is not open to discussion.
“The sale of Darwin is more than justified. There weren’t even conditions to keep him; it was completely impossible, for the values that came into the club and for what Darwin went on to earn.”
The boss is calm about Darwin Nunez's integration 🇺🇾 pic.twitter.com/eEDThyF2eB
— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) September 4, 2022
Nunez hasn’t had the best start to life at Liverpool, despite scoring in his first two competitive games for the club against Manchester City and Fulham.
He was sent off in his third outing against Crystal Palace, missing the following three matches, and his return in games against Everton and Napoli, he failed to provide.
Liverpool themselves have had a difficult start to the campaign having won twice all season and their most recent result was a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Napoli in the Champions League.
