Darwin Nunez has appeared to play down talk of a rift with Jurgen Klopp after admitting his “shock” at the German leaving as Liverpool manager.
Klopp departed Anfield last week after almost nine years in charge and will be replaced by Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, who will officially begin his role as head coach on June 1.
Nunez set tongues wagging when, having less than a fortnight earlier wiped almost all Liverpool-related images from his Instagram account, he was seen not applauding Klopp during the guard of honour after the German’s final game in charge at home to Wolves last weekend.
The Uruguayan, though, was spotted later the same day dancing with Klopp at the leaving party for the manager and other coaching staff and players who are exiting this summer.
And now Nunez has further indicated there is no issue with the man who was integral in the striker’s potential club record £85million move from Benfica to Liverpool two years ago.
“We were all a little shocked by Klopp’s departure, no-one expected it,” said Nunez. “It is a shame that he is leaving.
“I personally would like him to leave in a big way, winning things, and it didn’t happen that way. It’s also a shame for the players. I wish him the best in the world.”
While Liverpool slipped out of Premier League title contention in the closing weeks and lost in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League, they had earlier in the season won the League Cup against Chelsea in a final from which Nunez was absent through injury.
Nunez is now in Uruguay to begin preparations for the Copa America later this month, with the national team having a friendly against Costa Rica in the early hours of next Saturday morning.
And speaking to Uruguay news outlet El Pais, the Liverpool forward added: “The hope is to go step by step. The first objective is to pass the group stage and then fight all the games that are going to be played and try to do our best to win the cup.
“We have already shown against Brazil and Argentina, we are a team of many young players on the right path. We all have good quality and there is a reason we are here in the national team and in big clubs.”
