Liverpool are due to pay Benfica an extra £8.5million for Darwin Nunez after he made his 60th appearance for the club in the 1-1 draw at Manchester City. The 24-year-old was involved in a heated post-match confrontation with Pep Guardiola after helping the Reds earn a vital point in the Premier League title race.
Nunez failed to replicate the ruthless form he displayed during the international break for Uruguay when he fired three goals - despite forcing several notable saves from Ederson. The chaotic South American attacker joined the Reds in a club-record £85m deal from the Portuguese giants back in the summer of 2022.
Yet only £64m of that figure was paid upfront with the remaining £21m made up of add-ons. Liverpool paid Benfica £4.3m after Nunez made 10 appearances and they're now set to cough up another £8.5m following the landmark.
The final £8.5m will “depend on the individual and collective performance of the team throughout the contract.” Nunez has registered 12 goals and seven assists in 16 starts for club and country this season.
He has struck 22 times in 60 outings under Jurgen Klopp. The Liverpool boss later said of the incident: "It has nothing to do with the fierce rivalry. I don't think Darwin Nunez knows anything about it. I don't think I'm the one to explain it because I'm not involved, surprisingly. I love them both. I tried to calm it down without understanding a word."
Meanwhile, Guardiola refused to comment on the incident. He later said with a smile: "Nothing happened." The Reds remain just one point behind City in the Premier League table as the champions drew their second successive game after previously being held by Chelsea in a pulsating eight-goal thriller before the international break.
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Darwin Nunez had to be pulled away by his manager following his spat with Pep Guardiola (Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images) Nunez received glowing praise from Liverpool icon and international team-mate Luis Suarez in midweek as he continues to keep the veteran centre-forward out of Uruguay's starting XI.
"I am in a role that leaves me very happy, trying to help with whatever I have to," Suarez said of Nunez. "I have one of the best No.9s in the world in front of me today, which is Darwin.
The group needs him as he is performing and the only thing I have to do is contribute in what I have to and applaud him for what he is doing."
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