Núñez and Salah Reunite at Trabzonspor: A Wage Bill Twist
Darwin Núñez is on the move again, and this time the reunion comes with a twist. The Uruguayan striker is set to join Mohamed Salah at Trabzonspor on loan from Al-Hilal, and he will walk into the Turkish club as the higher earner in the dressing room.
According to Saudi newspaper Al-Yaum, citing Turkish outlet Sözcü, Al-Hilal have agreed a one-season loan that keeps Núñez on his full salary of €22 million. Trabzonspor will cover €8 million of that figure, with the Saudi club absorbing the remaining €14 million to move him off their books.
For context, Salah – the man who defined Liverpool’s modern era – is on €17 million. The hierarchy has flipped. At Anfield, there was never any doubt who the main man was. In Trabzon, the pay slips tell a different story.
From Saudi Frustration to Turkish Reset
Al-Hilal’s stance is clear: they want Núñez out to make space and reset. He struggled to convince in the first half of last season and then fell completely out of the domestic squad list in the second. For a marquee signing, that’s a brutal fall.
So the compromise is simple. Al-Hilal keep paying the bulk of his wages, Trabzonspor get a high-profile forward without carrying the full financial weight, and Núñez gets a fresh stage in Europe to salvage momentum in his career.
Rekindling an Anfield Partnership
This move pulls the clock back to 2022–2025, when Salah and Núñez shared a dressing room at Liverpool. The dynamic then was obvious: Salah was the reference point, the superstar, the man who dragged Liverpool to a second Premier League title and ended a five-year wait for the trophy.
Núñez was the volatile piece of the puzzle – explosive, erratic, capable of chaos in both penalty areas. He arrived as the future, but he never quite dislodged Salah as the face of the attack.
Now they cross paths again, far from Anfield, far from the Premier League spotlight. Salah has already signed a two-year deal with Trabzonspor this summer, closing the book on a nine-year Liverpool spell that began in 2017 and reshaped the club’s modern identity.
New City, New Roles, Same Pressure
In Turkey, the expectations won’t soften. Salah arrives as a legend starting a new chapter. Núñez arrives as the expensive gamble with something to prove.
They’ve shared goals, assists, and long European nights before. This time, they share something else: the responsibility of dragging Trabzonspor into a new era, with one chasing legacy and the other chasing redemption.
