Darwin Nunez no longer plays for Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League, but Simon Jordan has little sympathy for him.
The striker called time on his three-year spell at Liverpool and moved to Saudi Arabia in a £46million plus add-ons deal last summer.
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Nunez scored three goals in his first four league appearances for Al Hilal, who have not lost any of their 26 matches in the Saudi top flight so far this season.
However, after a failed January move to Fenerbahce, the 26-year-old was axed from his club’s league squad for the rest of the campaign.
Al Hilal also welcomed France and Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema to the club from their rivals Al Ittihad.
Although he is in the Uruguay squad to face England and Algeria, his selection for the 2026 World Cup this summer is not guaranteed.
Poyet’s perspective on Nunez nightmare
Speaking about his compatriot on White and Jordan for eSPORTY, former manager Gus Poyet explained his situation at Al Hilal.
“He’s not playing, very unlucky,” Poyet said.
“Made a decision to move to Saudi, and then they signed Benzema.
“They took him out of the squad for the local league, so he can only play in the Asian Champions League, which is a problem. He’s not playing at all… but remember that we are quite crazy, players are all different.
“Sometimes you are not playing in your team and you’re desperate to go with the national team, and you go and you give your best to show your club that you’re good enough.
“So it will depend on how he trains himself during this month-and-a-half that he’s not been playing…”
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Jordan then sarcastically said: “Must have terrible sympathy for a 26-year-old that went to a sub-standard league for a big bag of money… he got what he deserved, I suspect.”
Tough choice to make
Nunez had a difficult start to life at Liverpool as he netted 15 goals across all competitions in his first season, before hitting 18 and 15 assists in the second.
But having scored only seven goals in the 2024/25 campaign, an exit increasingly became likely before its confirmation in August.
Now at Al Hilal, he only has AFC Champions League fixtures and the King’s Cup final left to play this season.
“Big decision though, and it’s very personal,” Poyet said of Nunez and his thinking behind leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabia.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to say… to be in his position, where he’s coming from, how he was feeling at Liverpool, right or wrong, playing or not playing, making that decision to move to Saudi.”
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However, Jordan again suggested that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere, despite Nunez earning around £400,000-a-week.
“At 26 years of age, to go to the Saudi league… because you’re going there for one reason.
“And that’s okay, perhaps, if you’re Ivan Toney, you’re 30 years of age, you’ve played at Brentford.
“If you’re playing at Liverpool… I know that Liverpool don’t always pay the biggest money, that’s why Luis Diaz left.
“But the fact of the matter is, you’re still being paid very well and you’re playing for one of the iconic clubs. You exchange that to play in Saudi, and this is the consequence.”
