Al-Hilal's awful Darwin Nunez decision has already backfired

It’s been a February to forget for Darwin Nunez.

The former Liverpool striker moved to Al-Hilal last summer on a bumper contract reported to be worth around £400k per week.

The Saudi giants paid an initial £46m for the Uruguayan - who won over Liverpool fans with his work rate throughout his three seasons at Anfield.

It was seen as quite a coup for the Riyadh club - with Darwin getting off to a good start in the Saudi Pro League.

The 26-year-old scored six times and added three assists in his first 10 SPL games but it’s fair to say his time in the Middle East has taken a downturn since then.

Benzema in, Nunez out

Al-Hilal signed Karim Benzema late in the winter transfer window - with Al-Ittihad clearing the Frenchman’s salary off the books ahead of a potential move for Mohamed Salah.

But the 38-year-old’s signing meant Darwin would be de-listed from Al-Hilal’s domestic squad owing to restrictions on foreign players.

Since the Darwin has been in limbo - playing and scoring in the AFC Champions League Elite but being frozen out by Simone Inzaghi’s side on the domestic front.

And now it appears as though Al-Hilal’s decision to rid themselves of Darwin is coming back to haunt the club.

The side have laboured to two draws in their last two games without Darwin - surrendering top spot to Al-Ahli in a very tight-looking title race.

Benzema injured

And worse has come for Al-Hilal regarding Benzema - with the former France international now reported injured due to an adductor problem.

Their decision to dispense with Darwin means they cannot call him up as a replacement - and besides the former Reds’ No9 is already plotting his next move.

Various reports suggest Darwin is destined to rejoin the Premier League - with Tottenham and Newcastle both interested - and further afield there are links to Club America in Mexico.

Right now it’s a situation that suits nobody.

Al-Hilal have clearly made a mistake and could do with Darwin as their season hits choppy waters. Darwin can only play a maximum of five more matches before the FIFA World Cup - meaning he will be out of rhythm by the time the tournament rolls around.

And Liverpool look set to be down £10m as there is little chance of Al-Hilal and Darwin activating the add-ons which would have grown the transfer fee beyond the initial £46m.

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