Darwin Nunez set to cost Liverpool millions in Man City appearance
Robin Bairner
- 10 Oct 2022 14:37 BST
- 3 min read
Darwin Nunez is set to cost Liverpool another €5 million if he lines up for the Reds against Manchester City next weekend after playing Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nunez, who netted his second Premier League goal of the season in 3-2 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday, will trigger the first bonus payment in his transfer deal should he play the two games, which looks a definite probability.
Liverpool splashed out a €75 million up front fee for the Benfica hitman in the summer, with the possibility that his cost could rise to €100m if certain conditions are met.
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These are typically straightforward to reach and Nunez will likely trigger the first of these at the weekend.
Nunez only needs to play 10 matches for Liverpool to pay Benfica the first €5m bonus payment, and he has already featured eight times for the club, scoring three times in the process.
When are the other Nunez bonus payments due?
The first €5m for playing 10 games was effectively a formality in the transfer negotiations but the other clauses will be a little more difficult to attain.
Liverpool will pay another €10m to Benfica once Nunez has played 60 times for the club, which could happen this season if he stays away from injury and suspension problems. Having already missed three games this term due to a ban after being sent off against Crystal Palace, he would need to feature virtually as an ever present, though.
The specifics of the final bonus payments of €10m are not known. They do, however, relate to performance objectives, both in terms of individual and team achievements. For example, these could be triggered after a certain number of goals, or if Liverpool qualify for the Champions League or win a trophy.
Nunez has been a divisive figure since arriving at Liverpool for a huge fee, but Reds have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt thus far, despite the team’s early season struggles.
