Darwin Nunez makes telling gesture to former Liverpol striker Luis Suarez

Darwin Nunez has shown his respect for Luis Suarez by handing the veteran striker back his Uruguay number, with the pair set to lead the line for their country at the upcoming Copa America

Darwin Nunez and Luis Suarez are Uruguay teammates and share plenty of mutual respect (Image: Getty Images)

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Darwin Nunez has given a nod to Liverpool great Luis Suarez by surrendering his renowned shirt number as both forwards gear up for the Copa America with Uruguay.

Named in Uruguay’s squad for the much-anticipated tournament stateside, Marcelo Bielsa has marked Luis Suarez’s return to the national team for the first time since November 2023.

With national squad numbers revealed ahead of Copa America, the experienced Suarez, aged 37, has reclaimed his familiar number nine. The number was previously held by Nunez during Suarez’s hiatus but has now been returned to its longstanding owner in a telling gesture of respect.

The two shared a moment in a photoshoot presenting their respective numbers Suarez playfully obscuring the ‘1’ in Nunez’s ’19’ in a gesture that speaks volumes about their camaraderie.

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Suarez has shed light on his bond with Nunez, an alliance likely to pay dividends for Liverpool and pave the way for Nunez to recover his form at Anfield. Amidst highs and lows following his headline-making transfer from Benfica, which saw him briefly edit out Liverpool from his online presence, Suarez disclosed: “He [Nunez], with the humility that he has, a very good kid, said ‘no, Luis, you’re the No. 9, I’m going to respect you when you’re not there if I’m going to grab it’.

“Those are details that demonstrate the greatness and humility of a player who is going to be one of the best, if not [already] one of the best in the world today.”

Luis Suarez has given his seal of approval to fellow Uruguayan and Liverpool striker, stating his belief that Nunez will excel for the national team. Yet, he’s also sent a friendly reminder that he isn’t ready to hang up his own international boots just yet.

Suarez elaborated: “Apart from wanting to help, I come to compete for the position because I want that; to play, win and achieve the goal. When Darwin comes, he asks me things. At the time [he debuted] yes, I was the starter, Edi [Cavani] was the starter, but he always came, asked, wanted to learn things and that is spectacular.”

Darwin Nunez has given Luis Suarez the number 9 shirt (Image: Seleccion Uruguaya)

Luis Suarez has been recalled to the Uruguay side and will wear the No.9 shirt again (Image: Getty Images)

Watching the progress of Nunez, Suarez couldn’t hold back his admiration: “Having him in front of me, seeing how he trains, how he plays each game, how can I not stop to applaud him and celebrate? Yes, obviously I had my time, I enjoyed it a lot and I continue to do so.”

Suarez has been there for Nunez beyond the pitch too. After a previous incident where Nunez received a red card for headbutting Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen, Suarez shared some hard-earned wisdom.

Nunez recounted the aftermath of his red card, saying: “Off the field, we have a very good bond, I always follow him because Luis is an idol for me, and he also advises me a lot. For example, the time the headbutt thing happened [against Crystal Palace], Luis was the first to write to me.”

And Suarez didnt mince his words: “‘You idiot, don’t do that, another idiot is talking to you and he’s done it a thousand times,’ he told me. With Luis, we created a very nice bond.”