Former Liverpool man Darwin Nunez has been axed from his current club’s squad after Karim Benzema signed in January.
Nunez, who joined the Reds for £85million in the summer of 2022, had a hard time at the club before departing at the end of last season for Al-Hilal.
He left for £46million, with a number of Liverpool fans seemingly happy to recoup the fee. Nunez scored 40 times in 143 games during his Anfield career, and was part of the squad that won the Premier League last season.
In Saudi Arabia, Nunez has scored seven goals in 23 games for the Pro League leaders, but will now find opportunities more limited following the arrival of Benzema.
Saudi teams are only allowed to register eight foreign players born before 2003 in their 25-man squads, and Nunez has found himself dropping out of that number after Benzema’s signing. He can now play a maximum of only five more games this season – in the AFC Champions League.
It is an identical situation to the one that fellow former Liverpool man Roberto Firmino faced this time last year, at the same club. Former Arsenal man Pablo Mari has also been cut.
Darwin Nunez (pictured) has been axed from Al-Hilal’s squad after the arrival of new forward Karim Benzema
Nunez left Liverpool in the summer after a difficult three years in the Premier League
Manage Simone Inzaghi said of the decision: ‘The decision was difficult, but that’s the job of a coach. He makes many decisions every day, even in every training session.’
‘Nunez and Pablo are good players. I want them in all competitions, but we know the restrictions on registering foreign players. We couldn’t register Marcos Leonardo as a player born in Saudi Arabia. Time was of the essence, and I made the difficult decision. I calmly informed the excluded players of my decision.
On Benzema, he added: ‘Everyone knows Benzema. He’s a great champion. He doesn’t need to score a hat-trick to show his potential. We’re happy to have him in the team – he benefits us in every aspect, not just on the pitch.’
Nunez made only eight starts in the Premier League in 2024-25 and just one in 2025 as he fell towards the bottom of Arne Slot‘s pecking order in attack.
The striker had asked to leave Liverpool as far back as January, when he was again the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, but the Reds took the decision to keep him for the remainder of the campaign so he could play a part in the successful title pursuit.
Liverpool had received an offer from Napoli in June for Nunez but it was immediately rebuffed, as the Italian champions proposed a fee of just over £45million that would be paid in instalments – which would not begin until the summer of 2026.
Reports have suggested he has not settled in the Middle East and could be seekign a move back to Europe.