Darwin Nunez needed just 8 days to show his true colors after Liverpool exit

Darwin Nunez has admitted he misses Liverpool's fans during the international break, and it didn't take long for the striker to show his affection for the Reds after leaving Anfield last summer

Darwin Nunez has shown plenty of affection for Liverpool since leaving the club(Image: Getty Images)

Darwin Nunez will no doubt have mixed feelings about his time at Liverpool.

The Uruguayan never truly lived up to the expectations that greeted him upon his big-money move from Benfica. It wasn’t just the hefty fee that had supporters dreaming, though, with Nunez having impressed against the Reds just a few months earlier in the Champions League.

His performances, though, often left a lot of those same fans frustrated, with his wayward shooting not befitting of a striker who was being compared to Erling Haaland, having arrived during the same summer as the Manchester City marksman. After just three years at Anfield, the Reds decided to cut their losses.

Despite a less-than-stellar period on Merseyside, Nunez still garnered plenty of affection from Liverpool fans, and it seems the feeling is mutual.

Just in the last few days, the 26-year-old has spoken glowingly of the club’s supporters, hailing the impact they made on him during his time with the Reds.

"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them [the people of Liverpool]," Nunez told AUFTV ahead of facing England at Wembley on Friday.

"The truth is, they made me feel very welcome, and my family too.

Nunez has hailed his time at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

"During some difficult times I went through personally, the people always gave me that affection, that support, and that was very important to me, and obviously I miss Liverpool."

And that affection for Liverpool is not a new development either, with Nunez having made his feelings for the club clear just days after his departure in the summer.

Having had his move to Saudi Arabia confirmed on August 9, Nunez was still keeping in touch with his former teammates eight days later as they kicked off the new season.

Following the 4-2 opening day win over Bournemouth, Nunez engaged with a number of posts on Instagram as Liverpool’s players celebrated and paid tribute to Diogo Jota.

He showed his appreciation for posts from Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, and Virgil van Dijk, while also sharing a post to his own story from Liverpool’s official account highlighting the tributes paid to Jota and his brother Andre Silva ahead of the game.

Of course, having moved on from Liverpool, Nunez will be aiming to give his career a kick-start, although his time in the Middle East has not gone according to plan so far.

Darwin Nunez has been dropped from Al-Hilal's squad in the Saudi Pro League(Image: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Although he enjoyed a decent start to life at Al-Hilal, he soon found himself out of favor at the club, having been dropped from its Pro League squad for the remainder of the season.

Nunez has been forced to make way for Karim Benzema, who joined Al-Hilal in the January transfer window, while attempts from the club to move the Uruguay international failed, resulting in him being stuck in limbo.

Nunez can still play in the Asian Champions League, and with the World Cup on the horizon, he will be aiming to make his current side regret its decision as he looks to catch the eye of a potential new suitor.