Barcelona lost the opportunity to sign Darwin Nunez for just £15m because he did not follow Luis Suarez’s recommendation.
The 22-year-old, Darwin Nunez, joined Liverpool from Benfica this summer and could be worth up to £85m, including potential add-ons.
If Liverpool pays that fee, Nunez will be the most expensive signature in the history of the club-breaking the previous record paid to Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in 2018.
Darwin Nunez is now all set to move to Anfield, but if Barcelona had listened to Suarez, the situation could have been very different for Nunez.
About the Darwin Nunez’s Move
Former Barcelona and Liverpool strikers said they recommended Nunez to a Catalan club when their compatriot Uruguay played for Almeria before joining Benfica. However, Suarez was unable to convince Barcelona of the young striker’s move.
“When [Nunez] was at Almeria, I told Barcelona about him,” said Suarez to the Spanish journalist Gerard Romero in 2021.
“They asked me and I said, ‘Keep an eye on this one, he’s got something interesting about him…'”
“But they replied ‘No, he’s in Almeria, he’s too young.’ But instead of now having to pay £80m, £90m or £100m, they would have paid £15m or £20m for him back then.”
It was no doubt, that Barcelona’s defeat was Benfica’s victory. Nunez scored 47 goals in 84 games at a Portuguese club after joining the club record of €24 million (£20.6 million) from Almeria in 2020.
He now looks ready to join Liverpool. The striker arrives at Merseyside on Tuesday to complete his transfer
Liverpool fans are naturally excited about his arrival as former Nunez manager Leonardo Ramos described the striker as a cross between Suarez and another Uruguayan superstar Edinson Cavani.
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