Darwin Nunez given iconic No 9 shirt at Liverpool following Roberto Firmino exit

Darwin Nunez has been handed the No 9 shirt by Liverpool ahead of the new season.

Nunez, who arrived at the club for £85million in June 2022, wore 27 during his debut campaign at Anfield.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan has been given a huge show of faith by manager Jurgen Klopp as he will follow the likes of Roberto Firmino, Fernando Torres and Robbie Fowler in wearing the iconic No 9.

He opted to take the vacant jersey following the departure of Firmino, who left Liverpool after his contract expired and joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli on a free transfer.

‘I’m really happy to wear No 9, and I’m very proud too,’ Nunez said. ‘Honestly, previously other players represented this number really well, and now it is my turn to wear it.

Nunez has vowed to personally reimburse fans who bought Liverpool’s new shirts with his old number

‘I hope that everything goes well. I hope I’m able to represent it in the best way just as the previous players did.

‘Hopefully this is for many years and that it brings a lot of joy, too.’ 

Nunez will ‘personally reimburse’ fans who bought Liverpool’s home and away shirts for the 2023-24 season with a like-for-like exchange, the club said. 

‘Fans who have already purchased new 2023-24 home and away jerseys printed with the name ‘Darwin’ and the number ‘27’ will be personally reimbursed by Nunez with a like-for-like exchange for a ‘Darwin 9’ shirt,’ Liverpool said.

‘Any ‘Darwin 27’ shirts and kit exchanged will be retained by the club and donated to LFC Foundation.

Nunez, who scored 15 goals in 42 appearances in his first campaign at Anfield, will be hoping to fare better than some of the others who have worn the No 9 shirt at Liverpool.

While Firmino, Torres and Fowler are all considered legends of the club, players such as Andy Carroll, Iago Aspas and Christian Benteke also donned the jersey.

El-Hadji Diouf also wore No 9 and went an entire season without scoring a goal with the famous number on his back. 

Nunez was among the players who returned to the club for pre-season training on Saturday.

The forward was pictured alongside his team-mates as they reported back ahead of the start of the new campaign.

Liverpool play Bundesliga. 2 side Karlsruher in their first pre-season friendly next Wednesday, before travelling to Singapore to take on Leicester City and Bayern Munich.