Darwin Nunez is on the cusp of setting a new transfer record for Liverpool, but he didn’t always have it easy as a kid.

The striker from Benfica will join the Reds for £85 million in a deal that includes an initial £64 million plus add-ons. The Uruguayan’s transfer fee will be more than the £75 million paid for Virgil van Dijk by Southampton in 2018.

In 2020, Benfica acquired Nunez from Almeria, and he quickly became a fan favorite in Lisbon. He established himself as a starter last year, and this year he led the squad in scoring by netting 34 goals in 41 games.

Despite his early success in Europe, he and his family faced financial difficulties throughout his childhood. But the 22-year-old has never been proud of his family history.

“Yes, I went to bed lonely on an empty stomach,” Nunez stated in an interview published by Marca. But my mom was the worst offender when it came to going to bed hungry. So that my brother and I could eat first, she always served us first. My mom always went to bed early, never eating with us. I won’t ever forget my roots.

When one of Uruguay’s best clubs, Penarol, approached Nunez in 2013, he fought for his future and his family’s. At 14, he hit a rough patch when the club didn’t sign him and he had to move back in with his parents.

He had a torn cruciate ligament when he was 16 years old, and it took his Penarol coach Leo Ramos another year and a half to put him in the starting lineup. Despite his injuries and subsequent lack of success at home, he found his footing in Europe with Almeria.

At that point, he went from being “nothing” to becoming one of the top attackers in Europe, earning himself a reported £120,000 per week at Liverpool. “I don’t forget where I come from, a humble, hard-working family,” Nunez stressed. My dad put in eight or nine hours a day at the building site so that we could have food and other necessities. My mom was a stay-at-home parent who occasionally ventured out to collect bottles for resale.

Benfica head Nelson Verissimo complimented the youngster’s growth during his brief stint at the club. “His development this season has piqued the attention of a number of clubs. We must come to terms with it. That’s just how the market works.

“Players like Darwin are to keep but we are in a competitive market where clubs need the money for their daily management.” He scored in a Champions League game for the first time last season at the tender age of 22 years, 264 days.