Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro (; born 24 June 1999) is a Uruguayan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and the Uruguay national team. Núñez came through

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

's youth academy, being promoted to the

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

in 2017. In August 2019, he joined Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

for a club record fee. Benfica signed him in 2020 for a club-record transfer worth €24 million, the most expensive signing in Portuguese football history. In his second season, he won the Bola de Prata for top scorer in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

with 26 goals in 28 games, being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year. Liverpool then signed him in 2022 for a transfer worth €75 million (£64 million). After representing Uruguay at various youth levels, Núñez was called up to the senior national team for his first time in 2019. He scored on his international debut against

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. After missing the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

due to an injury, Núñez represented Uruguay at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and the

2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...

Early life

Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro was born on 24 June 1999 in Artigas, Artigas Department. He was born into an impoverished family, in which his father Bibiano Núñez was a builder and his mother Silvia Ribeiro was a hawker of milk bottles. Núñez played for local clubs La Luz and San Miguel before being scouted at the age of 14 by former Uruguay international

José Perdomo José Batlle Perdomo Teixeira (born 5 January 1965) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Salto, he started his career with Club Atlético Peñarol in 1983, being later noted in 1989 by Genoa head ...

, and then moving by himself to the capital city

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

to join the ranks of

. Struggling with

homesickness Homesickness is the distress caused by being away from home.Kerns, Brumariu, Abraham. Kathryn A., Laura E., Michelle M.(2009/04/13). Homesickness at summer camp. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54. Its cognitive hallmark is preoccupying thoughts of home ...

, Núñez returned to his hometown to spend time with his family and went back to Peñarol a year later. At the age of 17, he suffered a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

injury that ruled him out for over a year and required two operations. While he was injured, his older brother Junior quit the club and gave up football to provide for the family, telling him "you're better suited than me".

Club career

Early career

He made his first-team debut in the Primera División on 22 November 2017, when he came on for Peñarol as a second-half substitute for

Maxi Rodríguez Maximiliano Rubén Rodríguez (; born 2 January 1981), is an Argentine former professional footballer. Nicknamed ''La Fiera'' (''The Beast'' in English), he was commonly used as a winger on both flanks but could also operate as an attacking mid ...

in a 2–1 away loss against

River Plate Montevideo A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. The following month, he had knee surgery for a second time. Núñez scored his first professional goal on 13 October 2018, with the opener in a 2–0 home win over Fénix. On 14 July 2019, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 4–0 victory against

Boston River Club Atlético Boston River, simply known as Boston River, is a Uruguayan sports club located in Montevideo. Founded on 20 February 1939, their football section is currently playing in the Uruguayan Primera División. At the futsal Futsal i ...

. On 29 August 2019, Spanish

club

announced the signing of Núñez on a five-year contract, for a rumoured club record fee of US$4.5 million plus $1.5 million in variables. He made his debut on 3 October as a half-time substitute in 4–2 league defeat against

Sporting Gijón Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *BFA Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Real Sporti ...

. On 27 October 2019, starting for the first time, Núñez scored first goal for his new club in a 3–2 home win against

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

with a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

. He finished his only season at the

Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium. The term may be applied to the following: * Estadio (magazine) ''Estadio'' was a sports magazine from Chile, that specialized in Chilean football and other sports. It was regarded as the "pr ...

as the league's joint fourth top scorer with 16 goals, led by compatriot

Cristhian Stuani Cristhian Ricardo Stuani Curbelo (; born 12 October 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for and captain (association football), captains La Liga club Girona FC, Girona. He started ...

. Núñez scored these 16 goals in twice as many appearances.

Benfica

On 4 September 2020, Núñez signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica, who paid a club record fee of €24 million for the player. This was also Almeria's and the Segunda División's biggest transfer, with the club also receiving 20% of a future transfer.

2020–2021: Adaptation to Portugal

Eleven days later, he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 loss against

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round replacing Pedrinho in the 65th minute of the game. With his assist in a 3–0 win over

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

on 18 October, he reached five assists in his first four league games, best in the league. On 22 October, he scored his first goals for the club with a hat-trick against

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

in a 4–2 away victory in a

2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

match. Four days later, he scored his first

goal in a 2–0 home victory over B SAD. On 3 December, after three weeks off through a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

infection, he returned to action against Lech Poznań in the Europa League group stage, scoring Benfica's second goal in a 4–0 home victory. He struggled over the course of the season with the effects of COVID-19 and various injuries, and did not score for four months. He scored six league goals and provided ten assists – second-best in the league – helping Benfica to a third-place finish and qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round.

2021–2022: Breakthrough and Bola de Prata

In May 2021, Núñez underwent surgery due to an injury on his right knee, forcing him to miss Benfica's first months of the new season. He made his return from injury on 21 August, replacing Everton in the 72nd minute, in a 2–0 away victory over

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

, being booked in the process. Following back-to-back braces against Santa Clara and Boavista in the Primeira Liga, he was named the league's Player of the Month and Forward of the Month for September. On 29 September, he scored his first two Champions League goals in a 3–0 home victory over

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and was named

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. On 27 November, he scored his first hat-trick in the league as his team finished the first half at B-SAD 7–0 up, though the game was abandoned early in the second half due to insufficient players on the COVID-affected host team. He added another treble on 12 December against Famalicão in a 4–1 away win, becoming the seventh player in the league to score back-to-back hat-tricks. Three days later, he scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over

Sporting da Covilhã Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt * BFA Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Real Sport ...

to send his team into the semi-finals of the

2021–22 Taça da Liga The 2021–22 Taça da Liga was the fifteenth edition of the Taça da Liga (also known as Allianz Cup for sponsorship reasons), a football league cup competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional and contested exclusively b ...

, though, while he was away on international duty for Uruguay, Benfica were defeated 2–1 by crosstown rivals

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in the

2022 Taça da Liga final The 2022 Taça da Liga final was the final match of the 2021–22 Taça da Liga, the fifteenth season of the Taça da Liga. It was played on 29 January 2022 at Estádio Municipal de Leiria. The competition involved the 34 clubs playing in the t ...

. On 27 February, Núñez scored his 20th league goal for Benfica in as many matches, in a 3–0 home victory against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. On 15 March, in the second leg of Champions League round of 16, he scored the only goal of an away win over

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, securing a 3–2 aggregate win in the process. On 9 April, he scored his third hat-trick of the season in a 3–1 victory against B-SAD, bringing his total goal count for the season to 31 goals. He scored two goals against

in the 2021–22 Champions League quarter-finals: one in the first leg and the other in the second leg, while his team were eliminated 6–4 on aggregate. These games caught the eye of

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

, with the Liverpool manager stating that he believed that Núñez had a "big career ahead of him". His sixth goal of the campaign made him Benfica's all-time top scorer in modern Champions League history, surpassing

Nuno Gomes Nuno Miguel Soares Pereira Ribeiro (born 5 July 1976), known as Nuno Gomes, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was given the nickname ''Gomes'' during childhood after Fernando Gomes, and was regarded ...

' record of five goals set in the 1998–99 season. On 17 April, he scored a goal and provided an assist to help defeat the hosts Sporting 2–0 in the

Lisbon derby The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is the biggest List of association football club rivalries in Europe#Portugal, football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon-based clubs S.L. Benfica, Benfica and Spo ...

, being named man of the match. In his last match for the club, on 7 May, Núñez scored a goal that was ruled out by VAR in a 1–0 home loss of ''

O Clássico O Clássico () is the name given in Association football, football to matches between Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and FC Porto. Originally, the term ''O Clássico'' only referred to games played in the Primeira Liga, league, but now tends to in ...

'' against rivals

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, as they sealed the league title. He finished the season with 26 goals in 28 league games, being awarded the Bola de Prata award as top scorer of the Primeira Liga, being named in the

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

and

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

Liverpool

2022–2023: Adaptation to England

On 13 June 2022, Benfica reached an agreement with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

for the transfer of Núñez for a €75 million fee plus €25 million in add-ons. The following day, the club confirmed the deal, for £64 million, with add-ons potentially taking the overall fee to £85 million at a later date, making him Liverpool's record transfer. On 30 July, Núñez made his debut for Liverpool in the club's 3–1 win over

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

at the

King Power Stadium King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City. The stadium opened in 2002 as the Walkers Stadium and has a capacity of 32,259. The club attracted worldwide attenti ...

. He won a penalty, which was converted by fellow forward

Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly (, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a right winger or Forward (association football), forward for club Liverpool F.C., L ...

, and scored his first goal for the club with a stooping header in the fourth minute of

stoppage time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...

. On 6 August, he scored his first league goal for Liverpool and provided an assist for Salah on his debut against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw. During the following game, he was sent off for violent conduct in a 1–1 home draw against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, having headbutted opponent

Joachim Andersen Joachim Andersen may refer to: *Joachim Andersen (composer) (1847–1909), Danish composer *Joachim Andersen (footballer) Joachim Christian Andersen (; born 31 May 1996) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club F ...

. On 12 October, Núñez scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool in a 7–1 away win against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

. However, Núñez received criticism during the first half of the season for missing a number of big chances in matches. Núñez was named the Liverpool Player of the Month for November. On 21 February 2023, Núñez scored Liverpool's first goal in a 5–2 home loss to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

with a flick between his legs in the first leg of Champions League round of 16. Owing to strong performances throughout the month, Núñez was named the Liverpool Player of the Month again for February. Núñez's goal against Real Madrid was followed by a brace against Liverpool's

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in a 7–0 victory on 5 March. A minor toe injury disrupted some of Núñez's later game time, with Núñez missing out on three matches owing to this problem. Throughout the whole 2022–23 season, Núñez made 42 appearances and scored 15 goals in all competitions, nine of such goals coming in the Premier League, as Liverpool narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification. ''Goal'' called Núñez's season "mixed", noting that while he had "undoubtedly shown promise" he also had "plenty of flaws to iron out". However, it was in addition recognised by the publication that Núñez had "certainly done enough to earn the love and support of the Reds iverpoolfans". Many also argued that it was unfair to judge him on his first season, especially on a season in which many Liverpool players suffered from lapses of form, with former Liverpool player

Steve McManaman Steven McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He is one of the most decorated English footballers to have played for a club abroad, with the UEFA website stating in 2012 that "of al ...

calling him a "work in progress".

2023–2024: EFL Cup victory

On 27 August 2023, Núñez replaced

Alexis Mac Allister Alexis Mac Allister (born 24 December 1998) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Liverpool F.C., Liverpool and the Argentina national football team, Argentina national team. Mac Alli ...

in the 77th minute in a match against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

where Liverpool were trailing by a goal and were reduced to 10 men. He scored in the 81st minute and again in the third minute of injury time, meaning that Liverpool won the game 2–1. On 10 January 2024, Núñez provided two assists for his teammates in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

match against

, causing him to rise to the position of Liverpool's top assist-maker in all competitions with 10. On 21 January 2024, Núñez scored a brace against

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

; his first goal was the 100th goal of his senior career for club and country, while his second made him the first Premier League player that season to register at least 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions. On 28 January, Núñez scored against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in the

fourth round proper Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * '' The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet dra ...

of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, becoming the first player in the 2023–24 season in Europe's top five leagues to reach double figures for both non-penalty goals and also assists in all competitions. On 17 February, Núñez scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season in a 4–1 victory against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

which equalled his Premier League goal tally from the previous season. However, he was withdrawn from this game injured at half-time and was later ruled out for the

2024 EFL Cup final The 2024 EFL Cup final was the final match of the 2023–24 EFL Cup. It was played between Chelsea F.C., Chelsea and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, in a repeat of the 2022 EFL Cup final, 2022 final, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 25 Februa ...

, in which Liverpool defeated Chelsea. Núñez was praised as one of Liverpool's best performers throughout their EFL Cup campaign. On 2 March, he scored in the 99th minute of a 1–0 win over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, which was Liverpool's latest winning Premier League goal since records began in 2006–07.

2024–2025: Third season

On 21 September 2024, Núñez scored his first goal of the season against

and ended with a 3–0 win. On 23 October, he scored his first Champions League goal of the season in a 1–0 away win against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

. On 18 January 2025, Núñez scored a brace in the stoppage time to win the game against Brentford. In a season marked by struggles for goalscoring form, Núñez regardless won his first Premier League title with Liverpool.

International career

Youth

Núñez is a former Uruguay youth international, and was part of under-20 team squad which finished third in

2019 South American U-20 Championship The 2019 South American U-20 Championship was the 29th edition of the South American U-20 Championship (, ), the biennial international youth football championship organised by CONMEBOL for the men's under-20 national teams of South America. It wa ...

. Núñez also took part in the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

, scoring in the opening match, a 3–1 over

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. He scored the opening goal in a 2–0 over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in the final group match, to help Uruguay finish top of

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

. His country was eliminated from the tournament following a 3–1 loss to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

in the round of 16. Núñez was also in the under-22 team that finished in fourth place at

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

in Peru, scoring in a 2–0 opening win over the hosts.

Senior

Núñez was called up to the Uruguay senior team for

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in September 2019. He made his international debut on 16 October in a 1–1 draw away to

in a friendly match, replacing

Brian Lozano Brian Avelino Lozano Aparicio (born 23 February 1994) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who last played as a winger for Liga MX club Atlas. Club career In July 2016, Lozano joined Nacional on a one-year loan deal from América. On 13 J ...

in the 75th minute of the game and scoring five minutes later. In June 2021, Núñez was included in the final 26-man Uruguay squad for the

in Brazil. Due to a right knee injury that would rule him out for two months, he missed the tournament. Núñez was selected in Uruguay's squad for the

in Qatar. Uruguay were eliminated in the group stages of the tournament, after finishing below

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on goals scored. Núñez was lauded for his form in the qualifiers for the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

, scoring a stoppage-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

on 13 October 2023, scoring and assisting in a 2–0 victory against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 18 October, scoring in a 2–0 victory against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 17 November and scoring a brace in a 3–0 victory against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

on 22 November. For this latter performance, compatriot

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

stated: "I have one of the best No. 9s in the world ahead of me." In June 2024, Núñez was called up to represent Uruguay at the

in the United States. He scored his first international hat-trick in a 4–0 friendly win against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

shortly before the tournament.

Player profile

Núñez is a right-footed player, possesses an athletic frame, excellent acceleration and sprinting speed is the defining facet of his athletic skillset, with his change of pace giving him the ability to create immediate separation. He also has good awareness, he scans space and makes decisions when moving relative to the ball, space, team-mates and opponents. Núñez is a disruptive striker with a dynamic range of mobility who can carry counter-attacks, make incisive movements around the box and strike the ball explosively. He is adept at attacking open spaces and is good at generating shots from varied situations. He is also a promising creator around the box and is also capable of playing as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Núñez usually opts to rely on intelligent positioning and timing of runs in between defenders, specially in attacking the space between a fullback and centre-back at the backpost, often initially curving his run away from the centre back before moving back infield. He often makes adjustments to his footwork to find space in the box and he also uses his body either to avoid a foul, but forcefully enough to arrive at a cross ahead of his marker. His playing style has led him to be compared to fellow Uruguyan forward

Diego Forlán Diego Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former football player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his ...

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and

. For his somewhat unpredictable style of football, Núñez is often referred to as the "''Agent of Chaos''". During his spell at Benfica, under

Jorge Jesus Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus (; born 24 July 1954) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Most recently he was the manager of Saudi Professional League, Saudi P ...

and Nélson Veríssimo, Núñez played in a variety of positions and systems. He played as a striker and a left inside-forward in a 4–4–2 and

3–4–3 In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

formations, with the responsibilities in these roles, shifting on Benfica's ball possession or counter-attacking approaches for games. His ability to drift into the box and create space was a major part of his game, while also being aided by the presence of another striker (either

Haris Seferovic Haris Seferovic (, ; born 22 February 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a striker for UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr. Seferovic made his professional debut at Grasshopper in April 2009. Shortly afterwards, in January 2010, he ...

Gonçalo Ramos Gonçalo Matias Ramos (; born 20 June 2001) is a Portuguese professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), striker for club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Paris Saint-Germain and the Portugal national fo ...

), which enabled Núñez to vacate his wide position to take up more positions in the penalty area.

Jamie Carragher James Lee Duncan Carragher ( ; born 28 January 1978) is an English football analyst and former player who played as a defender for Premier League club Liverpool during a career which spanned 17 years. A one-club man, he was Liverpool's vice ...

has said of Núñez: "I think he's got imilarities to

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

. He's got that power, physically, to knock defenders off. And that blistering pace."

Personal life

Núñez and his partner Lorena Mañas announced the birth of their first child, a son, in January 2022. In addition to his native Spanish, Núñez also speaks Portuguese.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Núñez goal.''

Honours

Peñarol *

Uruguayan Primera División The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Benfica *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

runner-up:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Liverpool *

: 2024–25 *

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

runner-up: 2024–25 Uruguay *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

third place: 2024 Individual *

Cosme Damião Cosme Damião (2 November 1885 – 12 June 1947) was a Portuguese football player-coach for S.L. Benfica. A former midfielder, he is remembered as the main force behind the birth of Benfica and one of the first great Portuguese football players ...

Awards – Footballer of the Year: 2021 *Primeira Liga Player of the Month: September 2021 *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2021–22 *

LPFP Primeira Liga Player of the Year The Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (English: Portuguese Professional Football League), also known by its acronym LPFP, is a governing body that manages professional football club competitions in Portugal. It was founded in 1978 as Liga Po ...

: 2021–22 *

SJPF Player of the Month The SJPF Player of the Month (often called Portuguese League Player of the Month) is an association football award that recognizes the best Primeira Liga, Portuguese League player each month of the season and is conceived by the SJPF (syndicate of ...

: April 2022 * Primeira Liga Top Scorer: 2021–22 * CNID Footballer of the Year: 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website
Profile
at the Uruguayan Football Association website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Darwin 1999 births Living people 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2024 Copa América players Men's association football forwards Pan American Games footballers for Uruguay Uruguay men's international footballers Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in England Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan men's footballers Footballers from Artigas, Uruguay Uruguayan Primera División players Segunda División players Primeira Liga players Premier League players Peñarol players UD Almería players S.L. Benfica footballers Liverpool F.C. players