Ex-Benfica president’s startling Nunez admission highlights remarkable Julian Ward truth | OneFootball

Luis Filipe Vieira claimed that Benfica’s star talent, Darwin Nunez, wouldn’t have been sold for less than £128m.

The 72-year-old was no doubt referring to the Uruguayan’s reported release clause of £125m, with Liverpool securing the striker for almost half that amount with a £64m up front fee.

“With me Darwin only would have gone for €150m,” the Eagles’ ex-president told A Bola (via The Guardian).

That figure could, of course, rise to as much as £85m should the Reds satisfy the conditions of the remaining £21m worth of add-ons included in the structure of the deal set to take the 22-year-old to Anfield, medical pending.

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Though much has been made of the £85m fee the Primeria Liga-based outfit could (emphasis on the word could) receive in total, it represents an arguably stellar piece of business by the Julian Ward-led recruitment team when tasked with the flop sweat-inducing objective of finding a replacement for Sadio Mane.

To say that Nunez is a direct replacement is perhaps somewhat inaccurate based on a traditional viewing of the Senegalese international as a left-winger, though one might argue the former Penarol star is well-suited to the prospect of filling our No.10’s goalscoring boots.

All in all, should the medical go through without complications, it would mean a more than solid start to life as Liverpool’s sporting director from Michael Edwards’ former protege.

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