Darwin Nunez will not have a reunion with Mohamed Salah this summer and is set to complete a transfer to Al Diriyah. The deal is said to be advancing to the final stages after the Uruguay international weighed up options from Europe and Saudi Arabia.
Nunez's Time at Al Hilal
Nunez has spent little over a year at Al Hilal after joining the club for £46m, but he was not registered for the second half of last season after Karim Benzema's arrival at the club. The forward scored nine goals in 24 appearances after joining from Liverpool.
Interest from Other Clubs
The 27-year-old was linked to Trabzonspor, who signed Salah on a free transfer following his exit from Anfield, and Besiktas, who have added Leandro Trossard and Dusan Vlahovic this summer. The BBC report that former Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman played a crucial role in getting a deal close to fruition in his new position at Al Diriyah.
Nunez's Affection for Liverpool
Speaking earlier this year, Nunez admitted he was missing Anfield and Liverpool's supporters. “Yes, I’d be lying if I said no, that I don’t miss them,” he said in an interview with AUFTV. “The truth is they made me feel very good and my family too. In difficult moments that I went through personally, the people always gave me that affection, that support and that was very important to me. Obviously I miss Liverpool, I miss them a lot.”
Nunez retains plenty of affection for Liverpool and prematurely revealed a transfer earlier this summer. He sent a message to international team-mate Ronald Araujo before the defender had seen his move to Merseyside confirmed. "All the best in this new stage, my brother," he said on social media. "You are going to an incredible club, with incredible people and fans who will support you from day one. I love you very much."
Araujo, on loan from Barcelona, discussed his friendship with Nunez after joining Liverpool. The summer addition revealed that the former Red often spoke highly of the club. "A big thank you for the message from Darwin," Araujo said. "He's a good mate of mine. We've known each other and played together since we were kids, basically. He's always spoken highly of Liverpool, for sure. When you're out with Darwin, people are always shouting his name and things like that. He's told me about how the fans would recognise him and say, 'Nunez, Nunez!'"
