Not just Guardiola, Darwin Nunez's new enemy surprises everyone at Liverpool

Darwin Nunez is going through a good football moment, in terms of performance and numbers, both at club level (with Liverpool) and with the Uruguayan national team. However, criticism is always present. The 24-year-old striker is the current top scorer in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with five goals (two more than Lionel Messi and team-mate Nicolas de la Cruz) in six games.

In the qualifiers, Nunez scored against Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia (twice). In addition, during the 2023/24 season, with Liverpool, he accumulated seven goals and six assists in 18 games, between Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup (League Cup). Despite his numbers, in the last few hours, Nunez received a harsh criticism from the ex-footballer Robbie Fowler, a well-known idol of the Reds, with whom he won two international titles and four local ones. In terms of trophies, he has won one UEFA Cup (2001), one European Super Cup (2001), two League Cups (1995 and 2001) and two FA CUPs (2001 and 2006). He is also Liverpool's top scorer in the Premier League.

Fowler, via his column in the British newspaper The Mirror, did not mince his words when he declared the following about the Uruguayan: "How much time does he get? He arrived at Anfield almost 18 months ago and yet we are still talking about this potential and 'exciting rawness'. You can't spend your whole career being raw, can you?"

Fowler criticised Darwin

The former striker did not shy away from comparing Nunez to Erling Haaland: "I have sympathy for Nunez because he arrived at Liverpool at the same time as Haaland, but obviously the difference is huge, even if the City striker cost less.
He concluded on the midfielder's effectiveness: "You could say that maybe he doesn't have the confidence to shoot, but he scored twice for Uruguay, just four days ago. He also scored a huge goal against Argentina a week before. So maybe it's not confidence, belief or whatever. Maybe it's who he is as a striker.