What Is Darwin Núñez's Net Worth and Salary?
Darwin Núñez is a Uruguayan professional footballer who has a net worth of $40 million. Darwin Núñez plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguay national team. He is a product of Club Atlético Peñarol youth academy. In 2019, he joined the Spanish Segunda División club Almería before moving to Benfica the next year for a club-record transfer fee. Liverpool then signed him in 2022 for a transfer worth €75 million.
Núñez's personal achievements include winning the Bola de Prata for top scorer in the Primeira Liga, being named Primeira Liga Player of the Year, and being on the Primeira Liga Team of the Year. He has also represented Uruguay at various youth and senior levels most notably playing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 Copa América.
Early Life
Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro was born on June 24, 1999, in Artigas, Artigas Department. He is the son of Bibiano Núñez, a builder, and Silvia Ribeiro, a milk bottle hawker. Núñez grew up in poverty, seeing football as his only ticket to a better life. He began his footballing journey at local clubs La Luz and San Miguel, and his skills caught the attention of scouts. He then moved to the capital, Montevideo, by himself to join Peñarol's youth academy.
Homesickness hit Núñez hard while at the academy, so he decided to go back home to spend time with his family and rejoined Peñarol a year later. At 17, he suffered a devastating cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for over a year and required two surgeries. During his recovery, Darwin's older brother abandoned his football career to support their family. At that point, Núñez realized he needed to get better quickly and shoulder the responsibility for his entire family.
Early Career
Núñez made his debut for Peñarol's first team on November 22, 2017, in a 2–1 away loss to River Plate in the Primera División. He went on to score his first professional goal on October 13, 2018, in a home win against Fénix. On August 29, 2019, Spanish Segunda División club Almería signed him on a five-year contract for a club record fee of around $4.5 million plus $1.5 million in variables. He finished his only season with club Almería as the league's joint-fourth top scorer with 16 goals.
Benfica
In September 2020, Benfica paid a club record €24 million transfer fee for Núñez, who signed a five-year contract with the Portuguese club. The following month, he scored his first goals for the club with a hat-trick in a UEFA Europa League group stage match. A few days later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal.
In the 2021–22 Champions League quarter-finals, Darwin netted two crucial goals against English giants Liverpool. His performance had everyone in a frenzy. Even the Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp remarked that Núñez had a bright future ahead of him. He completed the season with 26 goals in 28 league games, earning the Bola de Prata award as the top scorer of the Primeira Liga. To add to the triumph, Benfica was crowned league champions, and Darwin was named Player of the Year and included in the Team of the Year.
(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Liverpool
In June 2022, Benfica sold Núñez to Liverpool for €75 million plus €25 million in add-ons making him Liverpool's record transfer. Darwin swiftly picked up where he'd left off at Benfica, scoring his first league goal for his new club and providing an assist for Salah on his debut against Fulham. On October 12th, he scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool in a 7–1 away win against Rangers.
Núñez was heavily criticized during the first half of the season for missing numerous big chances in games. The season culminated in him making 42 appearances and scoring only 15 goals across all competitions. Towards the end of the season, he got yet another injury that kept him out of the 2024 EFL Cup final, where Liverpool defeated Chelsea. Despite his absence, the fans praised him for his contributions throughout the EFL Cup campaign.
International Career
Núñez came through the ranks of the Uruguay youth team and was part of the under-20 squad that finished third in the 2019 South American U-20 Championship. He was also on the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup team that made it to the round of 16. Additionally, he was on the under-22 team that finished in fourth place at the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru.
Darwin was first called up to the senior national team for friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States in September 2019 and made his debut in a friendly match against Peru on 16 October. In June 2021, Núñez was included in the final 26-man Uruguay squad for the 2021 Copa América in Brazil but missed the tournament due to a knee injury.
He finally got another chance to represent his country on the big stage when he was included in Uruguay's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Unfortunately, Uruguay was eliminated in the group stages of the tournament after finishing below South Korea.
In June 2024, Núñez was once again called up to represent Uruguay at the 2024 Copa América in the United States. Shortly before the tournament began, he scored his first international hat-trick in a 4–0 friendly win over Mexico.
Personal Life
Darwin and his partner, Lorena Mañas, joyfully welcomed their first child in January 2022. In addition to his native Spanish, Núñez is fluent in Portuguese.
