Darwin Nunez's Rapid Decline in Saudi Arabia
Darwin Nunez’s Saudi adventure has barely lasted a season, and already it is over.
The Uruguayan striker, who left Liverpool FC for Al Hilal only last summer in a €53 million deal, is now heading into the new campaign as a free agent. For a player who once represented a then-club-record €85 million gamble for the Reds, it is a brutal illustration of how quickly a career can veer off course.
From record fee to spare part
Al Hilal did not wake up one morning and simply tire of Nunez. The decision was rooted in the hard edges of squad rules and even harder comparisons.
The Saudi Pro League allows each club a maximum of ten foreign players, split into eight over the age of 20 and two under-20s. When Karim Benzema arrived in early February, something had to give. Nunez, 26, became the casualty. His registration for league matches was withdrawn in the winter window to make room for the Frenchman.
On paper, Nunez’s numbers were not disastrous. In 22 appearances, he produced nine goals and five assists. Respectable, but not transformative. Not what you expect when you hand over €53 million and promise a new attacking focal point.
Then Benzema walked through the door.
Since joining, the former Real Madrid striker has already matched Nunez’s nine goals and five assists – but in ten fewer games. The contrast was stark. Where Nunez flickered, Benzema immediately commanded the stage. Once that comparison took hold, Al Hilal’s hierarchy made their call.
The club cut their losses. The big signing of last summer is now a free transfer before the next one.
World Cup clock ticking
For Nunez, the timing could hardly be worse.
With the World Cup looming this summer, he has not played a competitive club match since 16 February. Match sharpness is evaporating at precisely the moment he needs it most.
His last meaningful contribution for Al Hilal came in the AFC Champions League group stage. Still eligible then, he scored twice in the final group game, a reminder of the power and penalty-box presence that persuaded Liverpool to break their transfer record for him in the first place.
He did not even make the squad for the round-of-16 tie in April, when Al Hilal went out. From central figure to spectator in a matter of weeks. For Uruguay’s selectors, that absence will not go unnoticed.
His place in the national team suddenly looks fragile. He remains in the conversation, but no longer as an automatic starter. In the March friendlies against England and Algeria, he was reduced to late substitute cameos in both matches. Those minutes, brief as they were, might just be enough to keep him in the squad for the tournament – but they will not silence the doubts.
Premier League lifeline?
So what comes next for a 26-year-old striker, still in his physical prime, now available for nothing?
The Premier League is circling again. Newcastle United and Chelsea FC are both reported to be monitoring his situation, sensing opportunity in Al Hilal’s ruthless reset. For clubs searching for a forward with pace, aggression, and a point to prove, the equation is simple: the fee is gone, the risk is lower, the upside remains.
The question is whether Nunez can turn this abrupt Saudi setback into the jolt his career needs.
From record signing at Liverpool to expendable asset in Riyadh, his trajectory has dipped fast. The next move will decide whether this was a brief detour in the desert or the start of a long, slow fade from the elite.
