Trabzonspor's Ambitious Bid for Darwin Núñez Amid Al-Hilal Tensions

Trabzonspor have taken a bold step into the market: according to renowned Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, the Black Sea club have reached an agreement with Darwin Núñez on personal terms. Now comes the hard part – convincing Al-Hilal.

The Saudi club paid Liverpool around 53 million euros for the Uruguayan striker only last year and tied him down until 2028. They are under no pressure to sell, and Sabuncuoglu’s report offers no hint of the fee they will demand. What is clear: Al-Hilal will not let him leave cheaply.

Pay cut for a new stage

For Núñez, the move would mean a financial step back to take a sporting leap forward. He is said to earn roughly 15 million euros net per season at Al-Hilal. Trabzonspor, who finished third in the last Süper Lig campaign, can reportedly stretch to a maximum of eight million euros annually.

That gap underlines the scale of the project Trabzon are trying to sell him. Less money, but a leading role. A new stage. A familiar face.

Salah and Núñez, together again?

In Trabzon, Núñez would be reunited with a star who knows his runs better than most. Between 2022 and 2025, he shared Liverpool’s frontline with Mohamed Salah, who has just joined Trabzonspor on a free transfer amid huge excitement after leaving Anfield.

The prospect is obvious: Salah drifting in from the right, Núñez attacking the space, a Premier League partnership reborn on the Black Sea. Armed with the Egyptian and potentially the Uruguayan, Trabzonspor want to crash the Istanbul party, take on Galatasaray and the other giants, and hunt down a first league title since 2022.

Frozen out in Saudi Arabia

Right now, Al-Hilal are described as completely open to selling Núñez. His situation in Riyadh has deteriorated sharply since the arrival of Karim Benzema at the start of February.

Because of the strict foreign-player limit in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Hilal had to cut one overseas player from their domestic squad. They chose Núñez. From that point, his season effectively stopped. He made only two more appearances in the AFC Champions League up to mid-February and has now gone half a year without a competitive game.

Before the freeze, his numbers were solid: nine goals and five assists in 24 matches for Al-Hilal. Not spectacular, but productive enough to show there is plenty left in the tank.

Loan, option – and a place in transfer history

Trabzonspor’s preferred formula is clear: a loan deal with a purchase option. It would spread the financial risk and give them time to see how Núñez adapts. Whether Al-Hilal accept such a structure is another matter entirely.

There is another layer to this chase. If the eventual fee lands where many in the market expect, Núñez would join one of football’s most exclusive clubs. He needs at least 16 million euros more in transfer fees to become only the ninth player in history to surpass the 200-million-euro mark in cumulative transfers. So far, 184 million euros have been paid for him across his moves.

So the question hangs over this saga: will Darwin Núñez, sidelined in Saudi Arabia, re-emerge in Trabzon, rekindle his partnership with Salah, and help drag a traditional Turkish club back into a title fight?