Following the recent poor start of former Benfica forward Darwin Nunez at Liverpool, Benfica president Rui Costa has come out to speak on the matter. According to the president speaking about the striker’s signing he said: they feel like they won a lottery with the €100 million including add-ons signing. He also said the world has gone crazy, we had better strikers in our youth team.
Benfica President Reveals Darwin Nunez is only €40-45m
Benfica president Rui Costa who was a former AC Milan and Portugal player said he was surprised Liverpool came up with such an amount for the player. The English Premier League striker broke their transfer record this summer with Darwin Nunez signing. The striker was signed for €100 million including add-ons making him the most expensive Liverpool player and the second most expensive player after Jack Grealish who was signed for the same amount by Manchester City.
The Uruguayan striker scored 34 goals in 41 games for Benfica last season, prompting the Reds to break their bank on the 23-year-old. Nunez didn’t have the best of starts to the preseason under Jurgen Klopp. The player misses a sitter against Manchester United and his team eventually lost the game 4-0. However, what’s more, surprising is a recent Whatsapp message leak which has Benfica president Rui Costa commenting on Darwin Nunez.
Benfica’s president said it was like they won a lottery with the ridiculous price he was bought. The Whatsapp message details what Rui Costa said about the English club’s transfer bid for Nunez. “When we heard Liverpool were interested we were hoping to get 40-45 million as Darwin had a good season.”
“Two days later we received an official faxed bid of €80m with add-ons from Liverpool. The room erupted into laughter. I told my assistant to fax back asking for €100m with add-ons. The next morning a new bid worth €100m in total arrived.”“The world has gone crazy, we had better strikers in our youth team. I ordered my assistant to open a bottle of champagne, it felt like we had won the lottery.”
Liverpool’s swiftness in securing Darwin Nunez’s signature was also because of Manchester United’s interest in the player. The Red Devils were in direct talks with the player’s agent when Klopp’s side submitted their first bid. However, the Anfield club made the contact with the club quicker. The player’s recent games in the preseason have not been nice they only hope Jurgen Klopp will do his magic to help the player find his best form as the English Premier League is not easy.
