Former Liverpool star Darwin Nunez once made a classy gesture to Ronald Araujo, who now looks set to join the striker's old club in a surprise transfer twist.
Uruguay's defender Ronald Araujo (L) and forward Darwin Nunez (R), the players who scored for Uruguay to defeat Argentina, pose for a picture after the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualification football match between Argentina and Uruguay
Darwin Nunez made a gesture for Ronald Araujo during his Liverpool career(Image: (Photo by Luis ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images))
Liverpool's summer transfer business continues to surprise many as Ronald Araujo is set to be the next face through the doors at Anfield this month.
The versatile defender is joining the Reds on a season-long loan from Barcelona, which will include a permanent transfer option, to help shore up the options available to Andoni Iraola in the backline.
It's a move that came out of nowhere, solving some problem areas for Liverpool, with the Uruguay international capable of playing as both a centre-back and a right-back, areas that have been struck by injury issues in the past year or two.
With the deal set to solve those concerns, at least in the short-term, it should free up some space and funds for the recruitment team to improve the roster elsewhere before the transfer window slams shut.
Araujo will become the latest Uruguayan to make their way to Anfield, in the hopes that he can cement a place in the club's history moving forward.
The player before him to represent both that nation and Liverpool is Darwin Nunez, who the club signed from Benfica with the aim of landing a striker who could lead the line for years to come.
Things didn't quite pan out how the forward would've hoped, even though he did secure a Premier League title before making an exit to the Saudi Pro League last summer.
Nunez has featured alongside Araujo for the Uruguay national team, and even made a gesture during is own Liverpool career to the versatile defender.
Back in 2022, the Barcelona star picked up a thigh injury that required surgery, which put his inclusion in the World Cup that winter in doubt.
Araujo flew out to Finland to get the problem fixed, and while doubts still flew around his potential involvement in the tournament, Nunez paid tribute to him by lifting the star's national team jersey with his name on it before a friendly match against Canada.
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It was a classy gesture from Nunez, along with the rest of his teammates for the national team, clearly sending their thoughts to the defender while he looked to battle back to full fitness.
In the end, Araujo did make the 2022 World Cup, but failed to make an appearance for Uruguay as the team crashed out in the group stages in Qatar.
A similar fate befell him and the team four years later in 2026, as a calf injury kept him out of all three games as the team exited the World Cup in North America this summer in far from fine fashion.
Now, almost four years on from that gesture, and the roles are almost reversed, with Nunez now on the lookout for a new club, while Araujo is set to be the one at Liverpool.