Salah and Núñez Reunite at Trabzonspor: A Wage Structure Shift

Mohamed Salah and Darwin Núñez are set to cross paths again, this time not under the Anfield lights but in the intense, partisan atmosphere of Trabzon. The partnership that once fronted Liverpool’s attack is being rebuilt at Trabzonspor – only now, the financial hierarchy has flipped.

According to Saudi newspaper Al-Yaum, citing Turkish outlet Sözcü, Al-Hilal have agreed to send Núñez to Trabzonspor on a one-year loan this summer. The deal keeps the Uruguayan on his full Al-Hilal salary: a hefty 22 million euros for the season.

That figure matters. It places Núñez above Salah, who is currently on 17 million euros a year at Trabzonspor. At Liverpool, Salah was the undisputed star and the benchmark in every sense – status, output, influence. In Turkey, at least on paper, Núñez will be the higher earner.

The numbers behind the move reveal how badly Al-Hilal want a reset. Núñez struggled in the first half of last season and then disappeared from their domestic squad list altogether in the second. A marquee signing turned peripheral figure, quickly. The Saudi club are ready to cut their losses, even if they have to pay heavily to do it.

Trabzonspor will cover only 8 million euros of Núñez’s 22 million salary. Al-Hilal will shoulder the remaining 14 million, effectively subsidising his attempt to relaunch his career in Europe.

For Trabzonspor, it is a bold statement. Salah has already arrived on a two-year deal in this window, ending a glittering nine-year spell at Liverpool that began in 2017 and delivered a second Premier League title in the club’s history – and the first after a five-year wait. He was the face of that era, the man who defined Liverpool’s resurgence.

Now, in a different shade of blue and claret, he is about to share a dressing room with Núñez again, just as they did between 2022 and 2025 on Merseyside. Back then, Salah carried the attack while Núñez fought to find rhythm and consistency in English football’s unforgiving spotlight.

This time, the equation is sharper. Salah arrives as the legend looking to open a new chapter. Núñez lands as the expensive reclamation project, backed by Saudi money, searching for the version of himself that Europe only saw in flashes.

Trabzon will not care about the wage split. The club will care about something far simpler: can Salah and Núñez, reunited on the Black Sea coast, turn financial muscle into a title charge?