BARCELONA missed out on a bargain Darwin Nunez transfer in 2020, their former striker Luis Suarez has revealed.
The Uruguayan, 35, was impressed by his younger compatriot and wanted him to be brought to Barca.
The Catalan giants decided against making the move, only to see Nunez's value subsequently skyrocket.
The 22-year-old joined Spanish second-tier side Almeria from Penarol in 2019 for just £4.5million.
He was then available for around £15m a year later.
Benfica eventually decided to spend £20m on the dynamic forward and are now on the verge of selling him to Liverpool for £86m.
Suarez approves of the move, having tried to get Nunez to Barca.
He told Gerard Romero on Twitch: "I recommended Darwin to Barcelona when he was at Almeria.
"I have 15 years of international experience. I know a thing or two about forwards.
"And I told them, ‘pay attention to this one, he’s very good, he shows interesting things."
Not only did Barca neglect to sign Nunez, but they also opted to boot out Luis Suarez with a blunt 40 second phone call.
Like their Nunez decision, it would backfire - as Suarez scored 21 goals on the way to new side Atletico winning the LaLiga title in 2021.
Nunez is set to replace Sadio Mane at Anfield, with the Senegalese forward likely heading to Bayern Munich.
The incoming Reds signing bagged an incredible 34 goals in 41 appearances last season, including strikes home and away against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Albeit in a weaker league, Nunez scored more goals and laid on more assists than Mane last term.
On international duty with Portugal, Diogo Jota was asked about his potential new team-mate by Mais Futebol.
He said: "I don’t know, I’m focused on the national team. The market will move, I have no idea what the signings could be.
"I had the opportunity to play against him and he’s a good player, but I can’t say anything else at the moment."
Meanwhile at Anfield, Liverpool have confirmed that Divock Origi is one of the seven players leaving this month upon the expiry of their contracts.
blogpay
