Victor Munoz: Liverpool's New No. 23 and Future Star
Victor Munoz hasn’t kicked a ball in a Liverpool shirt yet, but the clips are already doing the talking.
The new $46 million signing from Osasuna is still waiting for his first preseason minutes under Andoni Iraola. That hasn’t stopped Liverpool’s fanbase from circling his name in red ink. A few seconds of training footage was all it took.
A new No. 23 with old echoes
Munoz has taken the No. 23 shirt, the number that used to belong to Luis Diaz. It’s an easy comparison to make, and supporters have wasted no time making it. Sharp cuts, quick feet, aggressive runs at goal – the training videos posted by the club have lit up timelines.
“I see the Diaz energy in this guy! Hope he shines,” wrote one fan on X.
“Damn this is premium talent,” said another.
“Yep, Ladies and Gentleman, we have a baller.”
“He might be our greatest signing.”
Hyperbole? Possibly. But that’s the point. Liverpool have signed a 23-year-old winger with only one full senior season behind him, and yet the mood around Anfield already feels like they’ve unearthed something rare.
From La Masia to Anfield, via Pamplona
Munoz arrives as a World Cup winner with Spain, fresh from a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final. That alone would turn heads. His route to Liverpool, though, is just as intriguing.
He came through Barcelona’s academy, then moved across the divide to Real Madrid’s youth setup. He made only two league appearances for Madrid’s first team, but his real breakthrough came at Osasuna in 2025-26: seven goals and five assists in his first full top-flight campaign.
Those numbers, wrapped in high-intensity wing play, were enough to trigger a battle for his signature. Liverpool beat Newcastle United to him, staking $46 million on a player who has barely started to write his senior career.
Munoz didn’t wait around to settle in. He cut short his post-World Cup break to report early for preseason, a small detail that plays well in a city that values graft as much as glamour.
A quick decision, a clear conviction
For Munoz, the move was sealed while the world watched him in Spain’s colors.
“It was a very quick process,” he said. “When it arose I was at the World Cup with Spain, so I couldn't take any time away to come over to Liverpool and set things in stone.
“I discussed it with my family though and straight away there were no doubts it was a great move for me. It all went very quickly from there.
“I'm sure this is the correct step for my career, and that's exactly what Andoni Iraola said to me as well. He said he was going to put a lot of confidence in me and he rightly pointed out that I'm quite a young player. He is going to help me develop for this great club.”
There’s no sense of a player hedging his bets. No talk of options kept open. Just a straight line: World Cup, decision, Liverpool.
Iraola’s blueprint and the perfect fit
The attraction runs both ways. Iraola, Liverpool’s new head coach, has built his reputation on high-tempo, front-foot football. He wants his wingers wide, aggressive and relentless. Munoz sounds like he has walked into the right dressing room.
“I think so,” Munoz said when asked if Iraola’s style suits him. “It is already well known that he likes to play with open wingers on both sides to build constant pressure and an overwhelming drive forward.
“That fits perfectly with my skillset. These are tools that I, as a player, also bring to the game so I do think it is a good fit for me.”
Open wingers. Constant pressure. Overwhelming drive forward. For Liverpool fans raised on the sight of wide forwards tearing into space at Anfield, the language is familiar – and welcome.
Hype, hope and a waiting debut
Strip it back and the facts are simple: one full season at Osasuna, seven goals, five assists, two league outings for Real Madrid, a World Cup winner’s medal with Spain, and a $46 million move to Liverpool. On paper, it’s a gamble.
On the pitch at Kirkby, in those tightly edited training clips, it looks like something else. A sharp finish here. A burst of acceleration there. Enough to send social media into overdrive before he has even appeared in a friendly.
Munoz remains Liverpool’s only signing so far under Iraola. That adds weight to his arrival. This is not a squad-filler. This is a statement piece for a new era, handed the shirt of a fan favourite and asked to bring chaos to the flanks.
The noise will only grow once he finally steps onto the pitch. The real question is whether the raw, buzzing energy from those training clips can carry through the long, unforgiving months of a Premier League season.
