JAKARTA - Darwin Nunez's name is becoming a hot topic of conversation ahead of the season-end transfer market.
He deleted all photos on Instagram in Liverpool uniform. Nunez only leaves photos with her family, the Uruguay national team, and the previous team, Benfica.
It was like throwing a signal that Nunez would leave Anfield at the end of this season.
Barcelona is most widely rumored to want to bring in a 24-year-old player to replace Robert Lewandowski.
Nunez is included in the projected major changes at Camp Nou. The Blaugrana, who wants to reduce the team's salary burden, made Lewandowski a priority victim to be released.
Barca's salary limit has been cut to more than 174 million pounds by LaLiga. That is, they must release players with the highest salary to continue the planned development.
Lewandowski has a salary skyrocketing to 27 million next season which makes him the team's largest recipient of salary.
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Meanwhile, Darwin Nunez at Liverpool only received a quarter wage from Lewandowski's salary. No wonder, Nunez's scheme to replace Lewandowski came forward.
However, the fate of Nunez anchoring to Camp Nou was determined by Mohamed Salah. If the Egyptian captain had moved to Saudi Arabia, Nunez would certainly be retained at Anfield.
On the other hand, if Salah survives, Liverpool will listen to Barcelona's offer for Nunez.
Meanwhile, being in a hunting position for big European clubs is the journey towards the peak of Nunez's career.
However, football is not a friendly path for the Uruguayan striker. Nunez learned a lot about winning big fights, both physically and mentally.
Now alone, he has drawn criticism for failing with the Reds despite scoring more than 20 goals in the last two seasons.
The donation tone only appeared because he missed seven games without scoring goals in all competitions. Three of them were in the 2023/2024 Premier League against Luton, Manchester United, and Crystal Palace.
The English football pundits compared it to players in Europe's top five leagues, where none missed a chance of that magnitude.
The critics even dubbed Nunez as Uruguay's Andy Carroll. As is known, Carroll was branded a failed purchase at Liverpool for only scoring six goals during 2011-2013.
However, people in his hometown, Artigas, 6,600 miles from England, know very well how Nunez struggles in football.
Young Darwin Nunez understood very well the homesickness when he left San Miguel, the amateur club where he cut his teeth and moved 430 miles to join Penarol, Uruguay's biggest club.
Being away from her parents, Bibiano and Silvia, was bad enough. Then, suddenly her sister, Junior, who is also in Penarol, quit football to find work and support her family. Nunez was alone at Penarol.
Nunez was so heartbroken that she almost forgot everything in football. Moreover, the intention to leave the round skin strengthens when he has a severe knee injury that makes him absent for a year.
If it weren't for his brothers and friends' support in San Miguel, he might be retiring early.
However, he was so confident to stay with football. Nunez vowed that nothing could stop her.
Few know Nunez better than Daniel Suarez, President San Miguel and his close friends who revealed the dark early days.
"Junior ( Nunez's brother) played in Penarol when Darwin arrived, but then he returned to Artigas because he was looking for work."
"It was very difficult because his brother's presence was very strong for him."
She was alone on Montevideo and it was a difficult time, missing her parents. Bad luck then hit her when she had a severe knee injury. That's when frustration really hit."
"He wants to go home and retire from football at the age of 16. He's really sad."
"Junior is key in convincing him to fight back and even move back to Montevideo to help him adapt. Of course his parents regularly visit."
"Everyone at the San Miguel club also sent a message to boost Darwin's enthusiasm. When he made the decision, he exploded as a player and after he made his Penarol debut at the age of 17, the rest was just history," said Daniel Suarez.
Seeing how hard Nunez's struggle is, he certainly won't fall just because of criticism from the English football pundits.
The football observers forgot that Nunez had stolen the attention since moving from Penarol to Almeria.
Barcelona have even been attracted since he defended Almeria about five years ago. However, Nunez canceled to Camp Nou and moved to Benfica.
Darwin Nunez then had a big success in Portugal. This slick performance with Benfica made Liverpool willing to make a record purchase of 85 million pounds in 2022.
Liverpool are certainly hesitant to release Nunez whose contract expires in 2028. However, leaving for Barcelona is also a good way for the 24-year-old striker to continue his career while silencing critics.
He must show that his mentality cannot be underestimated.
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