Gate closed? “I dedicate it to a good friend”
To this day, Nunez describes his first youth coach as his great sponsor. “He taught me how to play football. He also gave my mother a job and supported my family.” But a short time after the promise to his coach, he died. That’s why Nunez still has a special gesture ready for him today: “Every time I score a goal, I point to the sky. I dedicate it to a good friend who I will never forget and who is looking down on me from up there.” , so Nunez.
His path to professional football began in 2013. A scout named José Perdomo caught the eye of him and invited Nunez to the country’s largest football academy in the capital, Montevideo. But the step turns out to be too early. Homesickness plagues the Uruguayan, which is why he is not happy and goes back to his hometown.
“That’s it. I’ll stop”
In 2015 Nunez starts his second attempt in Montevideo. There, too, he initially had to fight through abuses until first division Atletico Penarol noticed him. The club turns him into a professional. But the then 16-year-old quickly tears his cruciate ligament, has to have an operation and is thinking about the end of his career: “I really thought that my career was over. That’s it, I’m quitting.” But his brother Junior dissuades him from the decision.
Darwin made his professional football debut against River Plate Montevideo after a nearly two-year injury layoff. But again he is thrown back by knee pain, the next operation is necessary. Darwin only established himself at Penarol in 2019. After becoming Uruguayan champions with the club, he takes the next step and joins UD Almeria in the Spanish second division. After a good season, Benfica ask Lisbon, Nunez decides to change again. He scored 48 goals in 85 competitive games for the traditional Portuguese club.
Now comes the big step towards one of the best clubs in the world, Champions League finalists Liverpool. There the young Uruguayan becomes a record transfer, replacing central defender Virgil van Dijk, who switched from Southampton to the “Reds” in 2018 for around 85 million. Including bonus payments, the total package from Nunez is said to be worth around 100 million euros to the “Reds”. Klopp is already enthusiastic about his new signing: “His age, his dedication, his hunger to improve. He believes in our project and in what we are planning as a club.”