Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has risked angering fans by joking about a move to Saudi Arabia for financial reasons.
Nunez, 25, was a target for Al-Nassr during the winter transfer window, with the Saudi Pro League side's second bid reportedly worth up to £62million. Liverpool rejected the offers because they didn't have a replacement lined up and still view Nunez as an important part of Arne Slot's plans.
The Uruguayan has only scored six goals in his third season, failing to show why Liverpool bought him from Benfica in 2022 for a club-record fee worth £85m. Talk of his departure isn't going away, though, and Nunez has stoked the flames.
During an interview Pro:Direct Soccer, Nunez and team-mate Luis Diaz were discussing his car collection. After naming his cars while Diaz was teasing him, Nunez said: "I need more money," before looking at the camera and winking.
The presenter then suggested that Nunez should tell Diaz to pass him the ball more often, so he's able to increase his goal bonuses. Putting his hand over his mouth, Nunez turned to the host and joked: "Saudi. Come on, Saudi. Ring ring." The presenter then told Diaz about Nunez's joke, who rolled his head back while laughing and started clapping. "Yes, come on," the winger then added.
The clip prompted mixed reactions from Liverpool fans on X. "[Nunez] doesn't help himself," one supporter claimed. "I would happily let them both leave in the summer," a second replied. But a third fan responded by saying: "This is a common football joke. But if Saudi came I'm sure he'd go."
It's unknown when the interview was recorded, as Al-Nassr ended their pursuit of Nunez on January 31 by signing Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran. Slot's recent comments on the 25-year-old suggest that he still has faith in him, despite his lack of goals going into the crucial part of their season.
"For me, he has impact," Slot affirmed last month. "If you only look at goals, he hasn't scored the amount of goals that he wants to score, or we want a number nine to score, but he does have impact in his work-rate. He's part of a team that scores a lot of goals and is winning a lot.
"Of course, as a number nine you want to score more goals and that's definitely what he wants as well. But I'm not only judging Mohamed Salah on his goals and Darwin on his goals - I also judge them on their work-rate and what they bring to the team. The fans support him so much that maybe he wants it too much."
Despite Slot making multiple changes to his line-up, Nunez started on the bench for Sunday's shock 1-0 defeat to Championship bottom dwellers Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. That was because his girlfriend, Lorena Manas, had given birth to her third child in Spain last week. The Uruguay international will hope to be in the starting XI against Everton in the last ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday.