Darwin Nunez has been left out of Al-Hilal\u2019s Saudi Pro League squad following the arrival of Karim Benzema, in what represents a major blow for the former Liverpool forward.<\/p>\n
According to Chris Burton of GOAL, the 26-year-old Uruguay international has been omitted from the domestic roster because of foreign player restrictions after the Saudi champions registered the Ballon d\u2019Or-winning French striker.<\/p>\n
The report claims: \u201cFormer Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez has been brutally axed from the Al-Hilal squad following the arrival of Karim Benzema.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nunez the casualty of Benzema signing<\/p>\n
Al-Hilal are allowed to name only eight foreign players born before 2003 in their 25-man Saudi Pro League squad.<\/p>\n
With Benzema occupying one of those slots after his move from Al-Ittihad, there is no longer space for the club\u2019s former No.9 in league competition.<\/p>\n
The article adds: \u201cNunez has been cut from Al-Hilal\u2019s Saudi Pro League squad\u2026 Ballon d\u2019Or winner Benzema has taken one of those spots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Nunez remains eligible for the AFC Champions League, he now faces the prospect of extended periods on the sidelines domestically unless the situation changes.<\/p>\n
Head coach Simone Inzaghi addressed the call openly, admitting it was not straightforward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision was difficult, but that\u2019s the job of a coach,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cNunez and Pablo are good players\u2026 we know the restrictions on registering foreign players\u2026 I calmly informed the excluded players of my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mixed returns despite decent numbers<\/p>\n
The Uruguay international, who departed Liverpool last summer in a \u00a346 million deal after playing a part in a Premier League title triumph, has not endured a disastrous campaign in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Darwin Nunez \u2013 2025\/26 Saudi Pro League (Source: Sofascore)<\/p>\n
Appearances: 16<\/p>\n
Goals: 6<\/p>\n
Assists: 4<\/p>\n
xG: 11.48<\/p>\n
Big chances missed: 14<\/p>\n
Goal conversion: 14%<\/p>\n
Minutes per goal: 209<\/p>\n
Six goals and four assists in 16 league games is respectable on paper.<\/p>\n
However, an expected goals figure of 11.48 alongside 14 big chances missed highlights a recurring theme from his time at Anfield \u2014 productivity in moments, but inconsistency in front of goal.<\/p>\n
The output has been solid enough, yet the efficiency remains questionable.<\/p>\n
That mirrors the description once offered by Roddy Collins during his Liverpool spell: \u201cNunez was mad as a brush but he caused chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chaos can be effective \u2014 but only when it translates into reliable end product.<\/p>\n
A swift change in fortunes<\/p>\n
Just days ago, reports suggested Fenerbahce were considering a move to sign Nunez from Al-Hilal, underlining how quickly his standing has shifted.<\/p>\n
For a player who left Merseyside as a league champion, having scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for Liverpool, this marks a sharp downturn.<\/p>\n
Statistically, the season has been passable. Convincing, however, it has not.<\/p>\n
Now, with Benzema preferred and squad places restricted, Darwin Nunez finds himself on the outside looking in once more.<\/p>\n
For a striker who feeds off confidence and momentum, that may prove the most worrying development of all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Darwin Nunez has been left out of Al-Hilal\u2019s Saudi Pro League squad following the arrival of Karim Benzema, in what represents a major blow for the former Liverpool forward. According to Chris Burton of GOAL, the 26-year-old Uruguay international has been omitted from the domestic roster because of foreign player restrictions after the Saudi champions …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":58688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/EOTK-FeaturedHero-Image-Templates-14.jpg.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58687"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58689,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58687\/revisions\/58689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}