Salah and Núñez Reunite in Turkey: A Role Reversal

Darwin Núñez is on the move again, and this time he’s heading back into Mohamed Salah’s orbit – but not as the junior partner on the wage bill.

According to Saudi newspaper Al-Yaum, citing Turkish outlet Sözcü, Al-Hilal have agreed to send the Uruguayan striker to Trabzonspor on a one-year loan for the coming season. The deal is simple on paper, yet striking in its detail: Núñez will keep the full salary he earns in Saudi Arabia, a hefty 22 million euros for the year.

That figure matters. It’s 5 million euros more than Salah will earn at the same club. The Egyptian, who has just signed a two-season contract with Trabzonspor after ending a nine-year spell at Liverpool, is on 17 million euros.

The numbers tell a story of their own. At Liverpool, Salah was the undisputed star. From 2017 onwards he drove Jürgen Klopp’s side, carrying the attack and playing a central role in delivering the club’s second Premier League title, and the first after a five-year wait. Núñez, who arrived at Anfield in 2022, spent three seasons trying to live up to the chaos and promise that followed him from Benfica, always chasing Salah’s shadow in both status and influence.

In Turkey, the dynamic shifts. Salah arrives as the legend, the headline signing, the man whose goals and aura are expected to drag Trabzonspor towards titles. Yet on the wage sheet, Núñez will sit above him.

The structure of the deal underlines how badly Al-Hilal want to move Núñez on. The Saudi club will continue to pay the majority of his salary, covering 14 million euros, while Trabzonspor take on 8 million. It is a sizeable commitment from the Turkish side, but a clear compromise from Al-Hilal after a disappointing first year.

Núñez struggled to convince in the first half of last season in Saudi Arabia, failing to impose himself as the spearhead of Al-Hilal’s attack. By the second half of the campaign, he had dropped off the domestic squad list altogether. For a marquee import on a superstar wage, that kind of fall is brutal, and it usually ends one way: with the exit door opening as soon as a viable option appears.

That option is Trabzon. A club with ambition, a fan base that lives on emotion, and now a front line built around two former Liverpool forwards who know each other’s runs and habits.

This will be the second time Salah and Núñez share a dressing room. At Liverpool, the hierarchy was clear: Salah the main man, Núñez the talented but erratic foil still trying to find consistency. In Trabzon, they reunite in different circumstances, both leaving behind heavyweight institutions and stepping into a new chapter in a league that will expect fireworks from day one.

Salah’s arrival in Turkey has already been framed as the closing act of a historic Liverpool career. Nine years, trophies, records, and a status that places him among the greatest to wear the shirt. Núñez comes with fewer accolades, more questions, and a salary that screams “second chance at the top”.

Now they meet again on the shores of the Black Sea, one chasing a legacy outside England, the other fighting to prove he still belongs at the game’s sharp end. For Trabzonspor, it’s a gamble worth taking. For Al-Hilal, it’s an expensive reset.

For Núñez and Salah, it’s a reunion with the stakes turned up: can they turn shared history into something new in a very different footballing world?