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Inside Darwin Nunez's downfall as ex-Liverpool star hits embarrassing new low in Saudi Darwin Nunez has suffered yet another blow to his confidence in Saudi Arabia with his post-Liverpool career going from bad to worse Darwin Nunez has endured a new low in Saudi Arabia by being placed on the loan market just a year after signing from Liverpool. The striker, 27, was sold for £46million last summer as a Premier League title winner. Despite that success, Nunez’s time at Anfield was largely a disappointment as he failed to deliver on the promise that followed his blockbuster move in 2022. The Uruguayan had hoped that, along with earning an eye-watering amount of money, he would also find his confidence in front of goal again in Saudi. But while he scored nine times and registered five assists in 24 appearances for Al-Hilal, his inconsistency in front of goal led the Saudi Pro League giants to dip into the transfer market and sign Karim Benzema from rivals Al-Ittihad in January. Benzema not only snatched Nunez’s place in the starting XI but also his spot as one of eight foreign players allowed in their domestic 25-man roster. That resulted in him being removed from their domestic squad for the remainder of the season. Following this blow, Nunez spent nearly six months training separately and was limited to sporadic AFC Champions League appearances, hampering his development and exacerbating his lack of confidence. His lack of competitive football in Riyadh directly impacted his standing with Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa ahead of the World Cup. Having been a focal point for Uruguay during qualifying, his match fitness issues saw him play just 76 minutes across the first two matches against Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Now, after a torrid tournament where he failed to score or help Uruguay get beyond the group stages, Nunez’s remarkable downfall has taken another twist. Al-Hilal have listed him on the loan market, a rare move by Saudi Pro League sides who are usually happy to take losses on a player, according to Portuguese outlet Record. They point the finger of blame for his career trajectory at Liverpool. They say that despite the best efforts of Jurgen Klopp, he was doomed to fail with the Reds supposedly failing to account for the language barrier and a lack of consideration for his personal well-being. Record question the decision to sign him at all, arguing he wasn't on their list of options originally and he didn't fit Klopp's mantra. There's now a lack of clubs interested in a permanent deal for Nunez who would be willing to pay even a fraction of what Al-Hilal forked out last summer. And scrapping his contract altogether would mean having to pay the forward tens of millions, given he has two years left on his lucrative deal. It comes despite him being just 27 years of age and in what should be the prime of his career. Nevertheless, it is expected that he will move on this summer, with The i Paper reporting Turkish side Trabzonspor are interested in a loan deal. Trabzonspor recently signed his former Reds team-mate Mohamed Salah, who played alongside Nunez at Anfield for three years. Nunez scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for Liverpool but should have had many more goals to his name across that period. He fell out of favour during the 2024/25 campaign, during which Arne Slot led the Reds to the Premier League title. Nunez started just eight games in the league that season.