Goodbye Nunez, the Uruguayan's surprise decision after the Champions League final

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said Uruguay's Darwin Núñez is a "long-term" project after the striker, his most important signing this season, has been relegated to the bench in recent weeks. "It doesn't help to go through a debut season that is difficult for the whole team - how can a striker shine when the whole team is struggling," Klopp stressed at the Anfield press conference.

"He was injured in some moments, suspended in others.... This is not a problem at all, it's a long-term project," the German continued. Núñez joined Liverpool this season from Benfica in an $82m (74.7m euros) transfer. He has scored 15 goals but has lost his starring role since the January arrival of Dutchman Cody Gakpo and the return of Portugal's Diogo Jota and Colombia's Luis Díaz.

"I'm not bothered by the situation, I understand that Darwin is.... He doesn't smile in my face when he knows he's not going to start and says: 'Thank you coach'. But when you have five or six players available in attack you have to make decisions and it's good," the German coach finished.

The decision

After Saturday's Champions League final in Istanbul between Manchester City and Inter Milán, Darwin Núñez is expected to return to Liverpool to continue his rehabilitation from a foot injury that kept him out of the last few games of the season and also made it impossible for him to be called up to the Uruguay squad for international duty in the coming days, a decision that has surprised many.