“The sale of Darwin is more than justified" - Benfica president says it was impossible to reject Liverpool's offer for Nunez
SL Benfica president Rui Costa has claimed that it was impossible to turn down Liverpool's big-money offer for Darwin Nunez in the latest summer transfer window.
The Reds agreed to pay a fee of €100 million including add-ons to bring the Uruguay international to Anfield. Sadio Mane's willingness to leave the club for Bayern Munich and Roberto Firmino's decline in form forced the Reds to make a massive offer for Nunez.
The Senegal international ended up joining Bayern on a permanent transfer. Nunez was highly impressive for the Eagles last season, where he scored 34 goals in 41 games across all competitions.
His goals included a Champions League hat-trick in the group stages against Barcelona and a goal each in both legs of the quarter-final clash against Liverpool. Benfica were dumped out of the competition by Jurgen Klopp's side via a 6-4 aggregate scoreline, but Nunez left a lasting impression on the Merseysiders.
DARWIN NUNEZ WINS IT FOR LIVERPOOL! 🔥 https://t.co/wKeC1zkydK
Nunez joined Benfica in 2020 from UD Almeria, a year after the club sold three strikers - Raul Jimenez, Joao Felix, and Luka Jovic - in the summer of 2019. Hence, Benfica fans expectedly questioned the club's decision to sell another up-and-coming striker when Nunez joined the Reds.
However, Costa admitted that the finances involved in the deal for Nunez made it impossible to resist a sale. Speaking to BTV (h/t Goal), he said:
"The sale of Darwin is more than justified. There weren’t even conditions to keep him; it was completely impossible, for the values that came into the club and for what Darwin went on to earn."
Darwin Nunez labeled as a mistake by Liverpool officials
According to El Pais (h/t LFCTransferRoom), the purchase of Nunez from Benfica has been labeled as Jurgen Klopp's biggest mistake by Liverpool officials.
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Apologies to Liverpool all ✋🏼
I’ll be back 🫡 https://t.co/iszTdSAx2i
Nunez scored his first goal for the club after coming on as a substitute in Liverpool's 3-1 Community Shield win against Manchester City on July 30. His Premier League debut was equally impressive as he scored and assisted one goal each after coming on in the 51st minute of the Reds' 2-2 draw against Fulham.
However, a red card against Crystal Palace in his second league game of the season saw him miss Liverpool's next three games. He returned for the Merseyside derby against Everton on September 3, but failed to make any impact in a 0-0 draw.
Nunez's most recent appearance came as a 62nd-minute substitute in a 4-1 Champions League loss against Napoli on September 7. The jury is still out on whether the Uruguayan striker was a good signing by the Reds, but it is far too early to give a definitive answer to that question.