Liverpool have completed the signing of Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez from Portuguese side Benfica on a six-year-deal for an initial £64m.
The 22-year-old could become the club’s record signing, with the fee rising to a potential £85m with add-ons.
Nunez scored 34 times in 41 appearances for Benfica last season.
“I’m really happy and delighted to be here at Liverpool. It’s a massive club,” he said. “I want to win a lot of trophies at Liverpool.”
Nunez added: “I’ve played against Liverpool and I’ve seen them in lots of games in the Champions League – and it’s my style of play. There are some great players here and I think it’s going to suit my style of play here.”
Liverpool’s current record transfer is the £75m paid to sign centre-back Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in 2018.
Nunez’s fee should reach at least £75m if he plays regularly. The add-ons in the deal, which could amount to £21m in total if they are all met, range from how many goals he scores to whether the Reds win the Champions League.
The signing is subject to international clearance and work permit approval.
The frontman, who has 11 caps for Uruguay, scored 26 goals in 28 league games in 2021-22 – with 25 of those goals coming in the 24 league matches in which he started.
As well as being the Primeira Liga’s top scorer for 2021-22, Nunez also scored six times in 10 Champions League games last season, including against Liverpool in both legs of their quarter-final in April.
“When I arrived at the training ground, I was really surprised to see the set-up and the structure and all the trophies here,” said Nunez.
“You can then imagine yourself winning more trophies and then later on when you come here again and see the trophies on display, you can say, ‘Look, I was a part of that, I was there at that time, winning trophies.
“That’s one of the reasons why I came here to Liverpool – to win trophies and titles.”
Liverpool won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup last season, but were runners-up in the Premier League and lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid.
