Darwin Nunez continues to cause as much mayhem in the transfer market as he has done for Liverpool on the park over the course of the last three seasons.
The Uruguay international was Liverpool’s record signing when they plucked him from Benfica in 2022 for a deal that has now cost the Anfield club €85 million after bonuses.
While initially Nunez won the appreciation of Liverpool fans thanks to his wholehearted efforts, for many this has simply turned to frustration due to his inability to consistently do the basics – including scoring easy chances.
Now it’s about damage limitation and it’s the job of sporting director Richard Hughes to do that.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Liverpool have put an asking price of €65m on the 26-year-old striker as negotiations begin with Napoli and clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
Interestingly, this closely links to the player’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €61m, which is based on hundreds of in-game data points as well as other factors, such as how long a player has left on his contract. In the case of Nunez, this is three more years.
Will Liverpool make money on Darwin Nunez?
Let’s assume Liverpool ultimately get Romano’s transfer fee for Nunez: have they made a profit on him? Spin it the right way, and the answer is yes. And comfortably so.
Due to the way in which transfers are amortised over the course of the player’s contract, Liverpool’s accounts show that the club only owes €25m for Nunez. Therefore, anything they receive over that fee is ‘profit’ in the eyes of an accountant.
So if Liverpool sell him for €65m, the books will show a huge profit of €40m. This is important for Financial Fair Play (FFP) purposes and also the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.
In reality, of course, the Reds will have made a sizeable loss in terms of their absolute spend. Darwin will leave having cost the Anfield club €20m more than they received for him. This does not take into account his wages and other costs associated with him.
Clearly, that’s a sizeable figure and unsustainable on a long-term basis if numerous big deals go wrong.
Whether Liverpool will or will not make a profit on Nunez therefore depends on what perspective you take over the transfer.
A short-term accountancy view means that the Reds have more money to spend immediately, but equally this needs balanced against his overall performance.
Liverpool, in the eyes of the accountants, have spent €60m over the last three years on a player who has returned just 25 Premier League goals. That’s not the type of value for money the Anfield side were hoping for from a marquee addition.
Nunez has divided opinion on the pitch with his unpredictable but wholehearted displays, so it seems fitting that as he leaves Liverpool, his transfer fee will do the same, depending on which perspective you take on it.
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