Liverpool FC is making room in its offense: As the Reds officially announced on Saturday evening, striker Darwin (26) is leaving the club and joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal with immediate effect.
Darwin will not be heading to Saudi Arabia just yet, but to Germany instead. More specifically, he will be going to Donaueschingen, where Al-Hilal is holding a two-week training camp until August 15. After that, however, the desert will be home for the striker, who is leaving Liverpool FC with immediate effect.
This summer, coach Antonio Conte and SSC Napoli were particularly keen to sign the Uruguayan. In the end, however, a coach with whom Conte had fought bitterly for the Serie A title last season prevailed: Simone Inzaghi. He had surprisingly left Inter Milan shortly after finishing runner-up in the league and losing the Champions League final in a crushing defeat, and subsequently signed with Al-Hilal.
There, he is said to have worked intensively on the Darwin deal. He was “helped” by the immense financial power of the Saudi Arabian club. According to reports, Liverpool will receive a base transfer fee of €53 million, to which millions more in bonuses could be added. His new three-year contract runs until June 30, 2028.
Plenty of prominent names
At the quarter-finalists of this year’s Club World Cup (1-2 against Fluminense), Darwin will come up against plenty of familiar names from Europe, including goalkeeper Bono, defender Kalidou Koulibaly and midfield maestro Ruben Neves. This summer, Milan’s left-back Theo was among those who joined last season’s runners-up for €25 million.
Al-Hilal is now paying more than double that for Darwin and hopes he will boost the quality of the team. However, the offense wasn’t really the problem last season: the reigning double winners scored 95 goals in 34 league games, 15 more than eventual champions Al-Ittihad.
