As the spotlight shines on his face, his trembling hands finally sign the contract that will make him a Liverpool players until 2028, Darwin Nunez’s thoughts that may have drifted back to his past.
He’ll no doubt remember his childhood in El Pirata, a modest working-class neighborhood in Artigas, Northwest Uruguay located in the flood-prone Cuareim River area. He will remember all the nights he went to bed without dinner and the daily struggles of his mother, who collected ticks on the street to sell to make ends meet. He will think about his father coming home tired after months of honing at the construction site, hoping to be able to buy boots for his son.
Liverpool’s newest striker arrives at Anfield with a remarkable story, one of sacrifice and overcoming obstacles, not to mention Nunez nearly quit football twice.
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Nunez’s first experience with big football was as a teenager running around the streets of El Pirata. On an afternoon in 2013, as he was playing on a secluded field in Artigas, the legendary Uruguayan midfielder Jose “El Chueco” Perdomo, a former star player at Penarolappeared and stood on the sidelines to watch.
Immediately after the match ended, El Chueco headed straight for the skinny boy’s parents, which caught his attention. Days later at the bus stop, 14-year-old Darwin said a tearful goodbye to his parents, Silvia Ribeiro and Bibiano, as he set off for the Uruguayan capital.
Upon arriving in Montevideo, Darwin remained at the Penarol Institute; however, he was cut after the first few training sessions.
“I don’t know what happened, but I wasn’t there,” Nunez told me in an article for the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. “I went back to Artigas. I returned after a year, and [Juan] Ahuntchain is the coordinator. We talked, and he said I would be needed in Penarol. Then I told my parents that I would stay. “
At the time, Nunez’s brother was in Penarol but not long after Darwin’s struggles, Junior Nunez returned to Artigas to help support his family. Darwin tries to follow in his footsteps, but his brother tells him to stay put.
“Stay here. You have a future. I’m out,” Junior said, a gesture Darwin will always remember.
The striker stayed at the Penarol academy for two and a half years until coach Leonardo Ramos promoted him to the senior team at the age of 16. At that time, he asked his agent Edgardo Lasalvia to bring his parents. Montevideo.
The career of young Darwin began to flourish, he was promoted to play a match with American Sud at Fossa Park. In the middle of the match, Darwin jumped while challenging the ball and twisted his knee when he fell. Subsequent examinations revealed that the ACL was torn, requiring surgery. He had gone 18 months without stepping on the pitch, his world crumbling around him.
“It was a difficult moment. I wanted to quit football then,” he recalls. “I’m going to work at Artigas; there’s no other way for me. I have to start thinking [life as] an eight-hour shift. “
Darwin remembered the sacrifices his brother had made for him, and that was what kept him going. Darwin recovered and eventually returned to play, but another crushing blow was imminent.
Fernando Curutchet, Penarol’s manager at the time, called him up to play against River Plate in November 2017. In the 63rd minute, Darwin was brought on for former Liverpool player, Maxi Rodriguez. Nunez will leave the field in tears, not because 2-1 loss, but for the pain in his knees. He had to have surgery again, this time on his kneecap.
Darwin returned the following year and in October 2018 he scored his first goal in a game 2-0 Glory ends Fenix. A few months later, Nunez was called in Uruguay The under-20 team played in the 2019 South American Championship and the World Cup in Poland. He was also a member of the team that participated in the Pan American Games. He arrived as a national team player and, a year after scoring his first goal for his senior club, he made his debut for Uruguay’s senior national team in a friendly match with Peruand scored to make the score a 1-1 draw.
In August 2019, Penarol confirmed his move to the Spanish team Almeria. His future, and that of his family, will be changed forever. Nunez’s life seems like a fairy tale. In the end, he will be able to achieve his biggest dream.
“We owned a house in Artigas,” Nunez said, “but it fell apart when we got to Montevideo. Luckily, I’ll be able to buy a house for my parents.”
In September 2020, Nunez caused a stir in the European transfer window. Almeria transferred him to Benfica for 24 million euros, making him the most expensive transfer in Porugal’s history Primeira Liga.
It may sound far-fetched, but Nunez’s career has advanced at breakneck speed. In just five years, he made his debut in Penarol, was called up to the Uruguay national team, moved to Europe and became the most expensive signing in the history of Portuguese football. He is now one of the most expensive transfers of all time, with Liverpool potentially spending up to €100m to sign him (including add-ons and performance bonuses). ).
Despite all that, Nunez is still a kid like he always was, and he doesn’t forget about his past. In a recent Instagram post, he shared a picture of the door of his old house, writing: “My home where I’ve been happy for 14 years! I’ll never forget where I came from and always remember it”.
How can you forget a place if you’ve spent so many nights going to bed without having dinner, witnessing all the sacrifices your parents made for you?
“I go to bed hungry,” he said. “But the one who goes to bed hungry most often is my mother, because a mother does anything for her children, so she went to bed without dinner so many times, just to let us I grew up in a poor neighborhood There, I learned by sharing everything with my friends; each person brought something.
“It’s the same at school; when I don’t have anything to eat, I go to school full-time. I arrive at school at 7 a.m. and leave at 3. My parents go to work, and I go to Rehearsals when I’m at school. After school, my mother was still not there, because she went to collect bottles and sell goods to buy things for my brother and me. I have not forgotten that.”
