The Bailout

After spending three seasons polarizing the Kop, Darwin Núñez makes his exit from Liverpool. The striker leaves for a totally different challenge, as the club begins a new era.

His transfer, however, hints at just how much the sport has changed in five years. 

Núñez leaves Liverpool as a bust. Having been brought in to replace the impact of Firmino, he failed to become even a starter for a Champions League side.

Looking back at Núñez prior to joining Liverpool, warning signs existed. While he lit up Portugal at 22, the Uruguayan had yet to fully show any sort of consistency. Liverpool bit too early, and clubs now seem hesitant to make that same mistake.

The striker now joins the mesh of former European stars who now call Saudi Arabia home. Saudi Arabia offers European clubs the perfect escape valve for dumping expensive players. Clubs that spent too much on certain players now have an easy way to move them.

As Liverpool continues to build their squad of the future, Núñez joins a league that plays its role perfectly. Following in the likes of Russia and Turkey, Saudi Arabia allows Europe to escape their mistakes without the consequences.

Clubs always jump at the hot prospect that has had one great season.

That insatiable urge to swoop up the next generational talent overrides any sort of rational thinking.

To be fair to the former Benfica star, Núñez tore up Portugal in the 2021/22 season. At just 21, he showed an ability to finish just about any chance. With the build that scouts dream of, it seemed easy to pencil him in as the future of the striker position.

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Arriving in Liverpool to a side that was looking to extend their convention window, he promised to be the piece that would bridge eras. Essentially, Núñez played the role that the team hopes Hugo Ekitike will. With that said, however, the Frenchman possesses the same issue as Nunez.

Despite impressing with Benfica, the striker had yet to show sustained success at the top level. Ekitike, similarly, lit up the Bundesliga, but it was the first truly successful season in his career.

As scouting continues to improve and the use of analytics becomes more normal, clubs have begun to move away from players like that. Using both Arsenal and Manchester City as examples, they both waited for the right player to lead their front line. Additionally, both clubs made mistakes, but honed their scouting ability to land players who could lift them. 

Gyökeres and Haaland both showed consistent success at various levels of play before making their big moves. Gyökeres needed multiple seasons of tearing up Portugal before clubs took him seriously. Despite being seen as a generational talent from an early stage, Haaland still proved himself in different leagues and levels to shake off any doubts.

Liverpool made the mistake that has plagued a club like United. Desperate to find a savior up top, the club bites at the first young player to show any form of promise, no matter the sample size.

A decade ago, Núñez’s career would have played out differently.

Either the Uruguayan joins a midtable side elsewhere, or Liverpool is stuck paying him.

Saudi Arabia now offers European clubs a get out of jail free card that other leagues previously had. China, Russia, and Turkey all at one point or another played this role to a T. Essentially becoming Europe’s dumping grounds for terrible contracts, they brought prestige to their leagues via this method.

Serving as a way to legitimize a larger project, these leagues attracted talents who might not have considered playing there. Again, this isn’t meant to put down the history of some of the mentioned leagues, but rather how the aims have changed. 

For example, China hoped that its Chinese Super League would kick off a football revolution in the global superpower. While China brought in their talents over, they still snatched Oscar at the peak of his powers. The hope remained that the stars being brought could provide the foundations for the Chinese football project.

Russia, especially with the oil-backed club of Zenit St. Petersburg, attempted a similar project in the mid-2010s. However, like China, Russia ultimately failed, as interest in joining the respective leagues dwindled. Especially as the wages across Europe caught up to those offered by these projects, the motivations disappeared. 

There, however, remains one massive caveat with Saudi Arabia: they have more financial capital tied to this project than any of the previously mentioned leagues. Despite the generational wealth offered, certain players have started to leave upon securing the bag, with Jhon Durán serving as a great example. For players making the move to the Gulf state, most surely don’t expect to end their careers in that league. 

As football continues to change, some aspects remain the same.

Countries will continue to use their sporting leagues as projects to legitimize themselves.

Perhaps, in another universe, Liverpool waits an extra season to snap up Núñez. Maybe then, they would have been able to better evaluate the striker.

Instead, Saudi Arabia came along to bail them out of a massive mistake.