Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is set to complete his move to Al-Hilal in the coming days, but the Reds will not be the only ones who will be banking a huge sum from his exit
Liverpool's Uruguayan striker #09 Darwin Nunez celebrates scoring the team's second goal during the first of two pre season friendly football matches between Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on August 4, 2025. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
Liverpool's Uruguayan striker #09 Darwin Nunez celebrates scoring the team's second goal during the first of two pre season friendly football matches between Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on August 4, 2025. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP) (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
Darwin Nunez will soon be leaving Liverpool(Image: DARREN STAPLES, AFP via Getty Images)
Darwin Nunez's transfer from Liverpool to Al-Hilal is set to further add to the substantial financial boost he's provided for one of his former clubs. The Uruguayan will soon meet the Saudi Arabian titans in Germany – their current training location – for a medical.
Arne Slot's Reds will pocket an initial £46.3million from his sale, with potential add-ons in excess of £10m. Despite often struggling at Anfield, the former Benfica forward is poised to earn up to £400,000-a-week in the Middle East. However, Nunez and Liverpool aren't the only ones set to benefit financially from this move.
His first senior club, Penarol, based in his native Uruguay and which he joined in 2014, have profited significantly from his European transfers. In 2019, the then-20-year-old Nunez made his first move across the Atlantic, signing with La Liga side Almeria.
The Spanish team paid a record-breaking Uruguayan football fee of approximately £6.94m, with a 20% sell-on clause incorporated into the deal. Just over a year later, Nunez's boyhood club found themselves cashing in once more.
After being impressed by his performances in Spain, Benfica shelled out around £21.7m to take him to Portugal. As a result of their savvy business, Penarol indeed received 20% of the fee, equating to roughly £4.34m.
El Observador reports that they were still entitled to a sum of money when Liverpool decided to sign Nunez in the summer of 2022.
Uruguay's Penarol Darwin Nunez (L) vies for the ball with Bolivia's San Jose Carlos Lampe during their Copa Libertadores football match at Jesus Bermudez stadium in Oruro, Bolivia, on April 24, 2019
Nunez's former club Penarol have banked a king's ransom from his career
Liverpool secured his signature for an initial £65m, with potential add-ons taking the deal up to £85m. As a result of the transfer, Penarol pocketed approximately £3m thanks to their astute planning when he joined Almeria.
The Reds demonstrated their own wise dealings as not all of the previously mentioned add-ons needed to be fulfilled. Slot's choice not to field him in one additional Premier League match for the Merseysiders last season allegedly stopped one of the conditions from being triggered, sparing Liverpool an estimated £4.3m.
Despite his departure from the club in 2019, Penarol continue to retain roughly 3% of any transfer fee Liverpool generate from him. When his switch to Saudi Arabia is completed, they are poised to collect around £1.34m from the transaction.
Darwin Nunez signs for Liverpool FC at AXA Training Centre on June 14, 2022 in Kirkby, England
Nunez's moves across Europe have been invaluable to his childhood club
Overall, they have banked around £15.62m from Nunez, 26, throughout the years. It represents a substantial windfall for the Uruguayans, especially given he only turned out 14 times for the club.
Most thrillingly of all, in years to come, they might welcome him back with enthusiasm. He has previously expressed his desire to one day return to the club he joined at the age of 13.
In 2023, he told a Uruguayan television station: "One day I plan to return and lift the Copa Libertadores with my Peñarol shirt."