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'Everybody at the club would like to thank Darwin' - Nunez exit confirmedpublished at 21:04 9 August
21:04 9 August
Image source, Getty Images
Darwin Nunez's three-year spell at Liverpool has come to an end with the striker signing for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal on a permanent deal.
The 26-year-old joined the Reds in June 2022 from Portuguese side Benfica for an initial fee of £64m but departs for Saudi Arabia for a fee worth £46.3m.
Nunez joined the Reds made 143 appearances and scored 40 goals for the Reds, winning the Carabao Cup in 2024 and Premier League last season.
A Liverpool statement read: "Everybody at the club would like to thank Darwin for his contributions and wish him and his family all the best for the future."
'I went on hunger strike to stay in Liverpool' - fan storiespublished at 15:45 8 August
15:45 8 August
You have been sharing your stories and photos about why you love Liverpool.
Here is a final selection of your submissions, but do make sure you scroll down this page to see all the best responses from throughout the week:
Image caption,
Dave: My parents wanted to move south to Plymouth, much to my disgust. I'd just been to Anfield for the first time and felt the atmosphere. It felt like I was in heaven. So as I was a stubborn six-year-old I refused, stamped my feet and went on hunger strike. I wanted to stay with my aunt and uncle. So I was promised that we'll come and visit at least twice a year and my father wrote to Liverpool with my picture. They sent it back with everyone signing it. I was born Red, I'll die Red.
Mick: Back in 1972, at seven years old, I was trying to pick a football kit for my action man.
I looked down the list; Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester... Oh wait, Liverpool. I like liver I like swimming. I want that one. Haven't looked back since. Although not so keen on liver any more...
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Sue: I'm a Londoner and I've supported Liverpool since 1977 (when I was seven years old). The boy I liked at school supported them, and so I did too. I was the only girl to be playing football every break time in my school and I loved finding out about the score on a Saturday. When Ray Clemence transferred to Spurs, the boy I liked changed his allegiance too. Even then I knew that was wrong, once a Red, always a Red. My first trip to Anfield was in 2023 - got there at last!
Slot on team news, Jota tributes and Crystal Palacepublished at 10:13 8 August
10:13 8 August
Katie Stafford BBC Sport journalist
Media caption,
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Community Shield against Crystal Palace at Wembley (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Joe Gomez "has a minor injury" and will not be available, but Slot expects him to be back soon.
Alexis Mac Allister is fit enough to start the game but not play a full 90 minutes.
On the ongoing tributes to Diogo Jota and how it has impacted them: "The tragedy impacted but it impacted his wife, children and parents more. The tributes that have been done since were all very emotional and impressive."
He said it is "nice to start the season with the chance to win something" but "unfortunately we face a very good Crystal Palace that have been very difficult to win against".
On opponents Palace: "They have kept their team together so they can probably hit the ground running. A team that performed really well at the end of last season. A good challenge for us to start the season with."
Slot said they aren't drawing too much on experience from the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle but "on Sunday, one goal is worth a lot".
On Darwin Nunez agreeing a deal with Al-Hilal: "Darwin might leave, indeed, but things aren't signed yet. You will need to wait a few days before that's completely done. There is a chance he is going to leave."
He said they are "always looking at other options in the market" but he is "very happy with the squad" that he already has.
In response to reinforcing their attacking options further: "We already have a lot of attacking power in our team. Coady Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekiitke, Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong."
He said Frimpong was brought in because he "can play as a right full-back and as a right winger," which was important because Salah will miss up to six games during the Africa Cup of Nations.
Community Shield: Did you know?published at 09:05 8 August
09:05 8 August
Image source, Getty Images
Liverpool have only won the Community Shield outright on one of the past six occasions they have played in the match as league champions, beating Wimbledon 2-1 in 1988.
The FA Cup winners have beaten the league champions to the trophy in seven of the past nine Community Shield meetings.
Crystal Palace are competing in their first Community Shield, and none of the past four such teams have won the trophy, with two of those losing to Liverpool (Southampton in 1976 and Wimbledon in 1988).
The Eagles have also won just one of their past 16 games against the Reds (D3 L12), picking up a 1-0 victory at Anfield in the Premier League in April 2024.
Gossip: Isak will not feature for Magpiespublished at 08:02 8 August
08:02 8 August
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak will not play for the club in pre-season games against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid this weekend amid uncertainty about his future and interest from Liverpool. (Mail - subscription required), external
'She'll thank me one day' - fan storiespublished at 16:34 7 August
16:34 7 August
This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos about why you fell in love with Liverpool.
Here is a selection of your submissions:
Image caption,
Jay: It's the late 1980s and my uncle was playing semi-pro in his red strip. What felt like the whole city would watch but in hindsight it was under 100. I remember the first TV game I watched was Liverpool against Wimbledon at their old stadium, which felt so tight around the pitch. I remember looking out for my uncle. He never made an appearance and luckily, my mum didn't break the bad news. But it's been a love affair ever since. Now three of my five kids support Liverpool including my cheeky six-year-old Eleanor-Rose. She'll thank me one day.
Sol: It started as an anti-Manchester United! Growing up just outside Manchester, all my friends were passionate about Manchester United. I just didn't want to follow the crowd. My mate mentioned Liverpool and I was away... passion and red for life.
Being of Indian background, my dad didn't follow football (more cricket) but an old English lady next door introduced me to football and became my second mum - my soccer mum!
Loud Saturday nights in front of Match of the Day followed (RIP Jimmy Hill), downing Pontefract cakes with dandelion and burdock and I didn't look back!
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Martin: Born in Liverpool, I grew up in Nottingham. Cloughie's Forest won the European Cup, and our lodger brought it home for safekeeping under his bed. We decorated it in Liverpool scarves that night. It's the same cup that Liverpool won outright and now sits at Anfield.
Liverpool feature prominently on Ballon d'Or shortlistpublished at 15:09 7 August
15:09 7 August
Image source, Getty Images
Liverpool have had plenty of representation in this year's Ballon d'Or nominations.
They made the shortlist for men's club of the year alongside fellow Premier League side Chelsea, European champions Paris St-Germain, Botafogo and Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister made the 30-man Ballon d'Or nominations list with newcomer Florian Wirtz also included for his contributions at Bayer Leverkusen last campaign.
Goalkeeper Alisson is in contention for the Yashin award, handed out to the season's best goalkeeper while head coach Arne Slot has been nominated for the coach of the year award.
'Didn't live up to expectations but was needed this term' - fans on Nunezpublished at 14:40 7 August
14:40 7 August
Image source, Getty Images
We asked you whether selling Darwin Nunez is a risk on Liverpool's behalf if it ends up leaving them short on attacking numbers for the new season.
Here are some of your comments:
Andy: No risk. He's a liability and we're better off being one player short than having him in the squad.
Paul: I wish Darwin well. I had hoped he would stay and take his chance when opportunity allowed. He seemed more relaxed and sharp in the friendlies. It might come back and bite us if the new faces don't hit the ground running. We just have to trust the process of recruitment.
Gary: Yes, it is a risk as we very sadly lost Diogo Jota and now we're selling Nunez, who has been great in pre-season. I'd have given him a chance. The pressure to sign Alexander Isak is now on.
Harpreet: There is definitely a risk in letting Nunez go without a replacement ready to come in. I assume the club are confident of getting the Isak deal over the line, but FSG has shown it has no issues going into a season with a lack of depth in certain areas. The lack of depth at centre-back this close to the start of the season is another worrying issue.
Thom: Unfortunately, Nunez didn't live up to expectations. However, with the tragic loss of Jota and an influx of new talent, I felt Nunez was needed this term. He provides something different, an explosion of pace, chaos and an understanding of the club and league. Someone like that is needed while others settle in.
Ricky: I don't think selling Nunez is a risk for the club but I don't think it's the best move for the player football-wise. Good luck to him, though. Things just didn't work out as expected.
Is selling Nunez a risk?published at 13:11 7 August
13:11 7 August
Image source, Getty Images
Are Liverpool taking a risk by selling Darwin Nunez to Saudi Pro League Al-Hilal this summer?
Hugo Ekitike, who arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt, may need time to settle into the English top flight and there remains uncertainty around whether Alexander Isak can be brought in from Newcastle.
Arne Slot's Reds will again be competing on all four fronts this campaign and attempting to defend their Premier League title, so is it a concern that Nunez is leaving if there are to be no new additions?
Despite the attacking signings already made this summer, could Liverpool be left light in numbers up front?
Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, The Redmen TV's Dan Clubbe said that while there is frustration around a potential deal, a move away from Liverpool would ultimately suit both club and player.
"It's not necessarily disappointment - the overriding feeling is frustration," Clubbe said. "[Nunez] came in for a lot of money and there was a lot of expectation around him.
"The timing of his signing was interesting. He came in at the same time as Erling Haaland. The comparison was made from the get-go and Nunez never lived up to those levels.
"He was a Jurgen Klopp-led signing, which brought danger. Liverpool's recruitment had been so well thought-out, smart and data-driven. To remove from that and allow Klopp to have free rein maybe was too much of a gamble.
"Given the money we spent on him, he probably has come some way short of what we expected, so it probably is best for both parties that he moves on."
'It becomes really hard to separate yourself from it'published at 11:44 7 August
11:44 7 August
Nicola Pearson BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Danielle Sarver Coombs
When it comes to our love for a football club, the answer to why we do lies in "both psychological and societal" reasons.
In the first part of her chat with BBC Sport, researcher and co-writer of the Routledge Handbook of Sport Fans and Fandom Danielle Sarver Coombs spoke about the part that identity and tradition play.
And yet when we are caught up in the emotions of a tough defeat or nerves of an important match, we can often ask why we put ourselves through it.
"There are psychological processes at work and physiological ones in terms of how we respond and engage," Sarver Coombs said.
"An example that I always give is when I take the train to work, I go past Arsenal's stadium and I feel literally nothing other than: 'Oh, that's a big building'. Whereas on a train to Manchester, I went by Villa Park and my heart started pounding. I got all excited and was trying to take pictures out the window.
"I had a visceral reaction to this place. We can't pretend we don't have that sort of physical reaction because we do.
"When someone is talking about a controversial decision and I feel myself getting wound up, even though I intellectually know that I can't control it and that it's just a game, my body doesn't know that.
"My gut doesn't know that and so I have this really emotional response and we can't control that."
A 2023 book titled 'Football on the brain: why minds love sport, external' suggests it comes down to 'an understandable and logical consequence of the human mind's natural inclination to find meaning through beliefs... It's a religion as far as the brain is concerned'.
But it not just about what is going on inside the mind but outside influences too.
"There is a sociological element to it because the community part is such a huge driver and benefit for us," Sarver Coombs explains.
"Sociologically, we are driven to be part of communities. We are driven to find our groups that we can be members of. Sport provides a way to do that - this sense that I was chosen to be part of this community and it's something bigger than I am."
As the game expands, unrest among supporters seems to be increasing, but how does that impact this ingrained love for a club?
"You always go through these cycles when the game is changing," Sarver Coombs said.
"Despite all the changes, the traditions remain so strong and it's such a huge draw that it becomes really hard to actually separate yourself from it. Even if you do, it tends to be a short-term separation. You get sucked back in because something happens.
"People don't want that change, but then we adapt to it and continue moving forward."
Browse this page to see lots of fan stories for how you fell in love with your club.
Gossip: Reds target Isak told to train alonepublished at 07:41 7 August
07:41 7 August
Sweden striker Alexander Isak has been told to train alone at Newcastle United amid interest in him from Liverpool, while the 25-year-old also missed a family day for the players that was hosted by the club. (Mirror), external
RB Leipzig are discussing contract terms with Liverpool and England Under-21 midfielder Harvey Elliott, 22, before they make a formal transfer offer. (Fabrizio Romano), external
'Ray Kennedy sealed the deal for me' - fan storiespublished at 16:32 6 August
16:32 6 August
This week, we are asking you to share your stories and photos for why you fell in love with Liverpool.
Here is a selection of your submissions:
Image caption,
Simon: We were on a caravan holiday in Tenby, Wales around 1985 and Ray Kennedy ran a football camp for us kids. I was already a Red (my older brother wouldn't let me support Spurs, thank God!) but meeting Ray and him letting us try on one of his England caps sealed the deal!
Mark: My love affair started in May 1974 when I watched Super Kev steal the show in the FA Cup final. I was nine and he was my instant hero. It was also the first time I had seen and heard the Red Army. I was in such awe. Even on our black and white telly I was in love. Some 51 years later and about as many trophy lifts watched, with many tears shed, my love has never waned. YNWA
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Tanya: Rayaan (9) and Sami (7) absolutely love Liverpool FC (just like their dad, uncles and cousins). They were lucky enough to get tickets for the last game of the season against Palace and had the best day of their lives watching the team lift the trophy. They have proudly hung their own Premier League medals in their bedrooms! Their favourite player is Mohamed Salah and one of their other highlights of the season was going to the Gtech and watching Darwin Nunez score a brace against Brentford in injury time!
Is it time for Liverpool to sell Nunez?published at 15:26 6 August
15:26 6 August
Tom McCoy BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Liverpool are in talks with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal over Darwin Nunez, with the Reds considering selling the striker, who joined from Benfica in 2022 for an initial fee of £64.1m.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed some memorable moments with the Anfield club, such as January's match-winning late double at Brentford, but has struggled to make an impact consistently.
He has scored 25 Premier League goals, underperforming his expected goals (xG) total by 8.6. That is the second-worst record of any player over the past three years, with only Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton faring worse.
The league's best finishers typically register shot-conversion rates of over 20%, but Nunez's percentage of 11.1% ranks only 95th. When it comes to shot accuracy, meaning the proportion of efforts directed on target, he also barely scrapes into the top 100.
There is no lack of volume for the striker, who sits inside the top 10 for both shots and shots on target, despite only starting 49 top-flight matches for the Merseysiders.
He has also arguably been unlucky, hitting the woodwork 14 times - the most by any player since 2022-23.
But, ultimately, a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal may have persuaded Liverpool now is the time to cash in on the Uruguayan.
Liverpool in talks with Al-Hilal over Nunezpublished at 12:55 6 August
12:55 6 August
Sami Mokbel Senior football correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
Talks between Liverpool and Al-Hilal over striker Darwin Nunez have opened and are progressing.
There is no agreement yet, and any move will then be down to Uruguay international Nunez agreeing personal terms with the Saudi Pro League side, who are coached by former Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi.
Offloading Nunez - who was also a Napoli target during the summer - would financially aid Liverpool's efforts to land Newcastle striker Alexander Isak this window.
The 26-year-old has scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for the Reds since arriving from Benfica in the summer of 2022.
'We have a good group... everybody is eager to start now' published at 12:54 6 August
12:54 6 August
Image source, Getty Images
Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo believes the team are ready to hit the ground running as they prepare for Sunday's Community Shield against FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
With several new faces joining the squad this summer, Gakpo says Liverpool's tight-knit dressing room has made it easy for arrivals to settle quickly, and he is hopeful the Reds can start the season on the front foot by lifting silverware in the annual curtain-raiser and then carry that momentum into the Premier League campaign.
"It was a good pre-season from the team. I think we worked very hard and enjoyed some good games as well. I think everybody is eager to start now this upcoming weekend. I can't wait," Gakpo told club media., external
"We have a good group in general. That makes it maybe a little bit easier to adapt for new players to come in. I think a lot of the players knew each other, maybe from playing against each other in the national team or things like this. I think they adapted well and quickly - hopefully they feel at home as well.
"Obviously, we're going to play the Community Shield. It's going to be an important game for us to start the season well, and that's what we're here for. We're going to give it our best shot."
Liverpool 'have heeded wisdom of one of their greatest icons'published at 11:51 6 August
11:51 6 August
Pat Nevin Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty Images
Will Liverpool be even better this season than last?
They have an army of modern technical advisers but they have heeded the wisdom of one of their greatest historic icons.
Former manager Bill Shankly is remembered for his iconic one-liners, none more than: "Football isn't a matter of life and death - it's more important than that."
For those who now think that trite or even tasteless, it was meant as a joke, an exaggeration, a bit of fun with words - nothing more.
I was always more impressed with his idea that "you must always strengthen when you are at the top, before your power starts to fade". Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu would have been proud of that ideology.
It is easier said than done, however. Bringing an expensive bunch of new players into the group after winning a major trophy can put some of the current squad's noses out of joint. Some might think: "Are they replacing me already, after all I have done for them?"
Liverpool cannot afford to damage the brilliant team spirit they have, so the personalities of the new recruits are as vital as how you sell their arrival to the rest of the players.
They cannot be allowed to upset the on-field balance either. Some players just work perfectly together - there is a synergy that cannot be measured by stats. They understand each other and help each other, sometimes even without knowing they are doing it.
There is also the thought that one day Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk will slow down with age or get injured more frequently. While everybody still backs the Reds as favourites, could these problems beset Arne Slot's team this season?
Almost certainly not. They have recruited brilliantly and are still the team to beat, even if some of us are flailing around trying to find a weakness - which probably is not there.
Image source, Getty Images
