Darwin Núñez

He made his return from injury on 21 August, replacing Everton in the 72nd minute, in a 2–0 away victory over Gil Vicente, being booked in the process.

Following back-to-back braces against Santa Clara and Boavista in the Primeira Liga, he was named the league's Player of the Month and Forward of the Month for September.

On 29 September, he scored his first two Champions League goals in a 3–0 home victory over Barcelona, and was named man of the match.

On 27 November, he scored his first hat-trick in the league as his team finished the first half at B-SAD 7–0 up, though the game was abandoned early in the second half due to insufficient players on the COVID-affected host team.

He added another treble on 12 December against Famalicão in a 4–1 away win, becoming the seventh player in the league to score back-to-back hat-tricks.

Three days later, he scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Sporting da Covilhã to send his team into the semi-finals of the 2021–22 Taça da Liga, though, while he was away on international duty for Uruguay, Benfica were defeated 2–1 by crosstown rivals Sporting CP in the 2022 Taça da Liga final.

Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro (born 24 June 1999) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguay national team.

Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro was born on 24 June 1999 in Artigas, Artigas Department.

He was born into an impoverished family, in which his father Bibiano Núñez was a builder and his mother Silvia Ribeiro was a hawker of milk bottles.

Núñez played for local clubs La Luz and San Miguel before being scouted at the age of 14 by former Uruguay international José Perdomo, and then moving by himself to the capital city Montevideo to join the ranks of Peñarol.

Struggling with homesickness, Núñez returned to his hometown to spend time with his family and went back to Peñarol a year later.

At the age of 17, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out for over a year and required two operations.

While he was injured, his older brother Junior quit the club and gave up football in order to provide for the family, telling him "you're better suited than me".

Núñez came through Peñarol's youth academy, being promoted to the first team in 2017.

He made his first-team debut in the Primera División on 22 November 2017, when he came on for Peñarol as a second-half substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in a 2–1 away loss against River Plate Montevideo.

The following month, he had knee surgery for a second time.

Núñez scored his first professional goal on 13 October 2018, with the opener in a 2–0 home win over Fénix.

In August 2019, he joined Spanish Segunda División club Almería for a club record fee.

After representing Uruguay at various youth levels, Núñez was called up to the senior national team for his first time in 2019.

He scored on his international debut against Peru.

After missing the 2021 Copa América due to an injury, Núñez represented Uruguay at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

On 14 July 2019, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory against Boston River.

On 29 August 2019, Spanish Segunda División club Almería announced the signing of Núñez on a five-year contract, for a rumoured club record fee of US$4.5 million plus $1.5 million in variables.

He made his debut on 3 October as a half-time substitute in 4–2 league defeat against Sporting Gijón.

On 27 October 2019, starting for the first time, Núñez scored first goal for his new club in a 3–2 home win against Extremadura with a penalty.

He finished his only season at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos as the league's joint fourth top scorer with 16 goals, led by compatriot Cristhian Stuani.

Núñez scored these 16 goals in twice as many appearances.

Benfica signed him in 2020 for a club-record transfer worth €24 million, the most expensive signing in Portuguese football history.

In his second season, he won the Bola de Prata for top scorer in the Primeira Liga with 26 goals in 28 games, being named in the Primeira Liga Team of the Year and Primeira Liga Player of the Year.

Liverpool then signed him in 2022 for a transfer worth €75 million (£64 million).

On 4 September 2020, Núñez signed a five-year contract with Portuguese club Benfica, who paid a club record fee of €24 million for the player.

This was also Almeria's and the Segunda División's biggest transfer, with the club also receiving 20% of a future transfer.

Eleven days later, he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 loss against PAOK for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round replacing Pedrinho in the 65th minute of the game.

With his assist in a 3–0 win over Rio Ave on 18 October, he reached five assists in his first four league games, best in the league.

On 22 October, he scored his first goals for the club with a hat-trick against Lech Poznań in a 4–2 away victory in a 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage match.

Four days later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal in a 2–0 home victory over B SAD.

On 3 December, after three weeks off through a COVID-19 infection, he returned to action against Lech Poznań in the Europa League group stage, scoring Benfica's second goal in a 4–0 home victory.

He struggled over the course of the season with the effects of COVID-19 and various injuries, and did not score for four months.

He scored six league goals and provided ten assists – second-best in the league – helping Benfica to a third-place finish and qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round.

In May 2021, Núñez underwent surgery due to an injury on his right knee, forcing him to miss Benfica's first months of the new season.