Darwin Gabriel Núñez Ribeiro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈdaɾwin ˈnuɲeθ];[3] born 24 June 1999) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the Uruguay national team.

[5] He was born into an impoverished family, in which his father Bibiano Núñez was a builder and his mother Silvia Ribeiro was a hawker of milk bottles.

Núñez played for local clubs La Luz and San Miguel before being scouted at the age of 14 by former Uruguay international José Perdomo, and then moving by himself to the capital city Montevideo to join the ranks of Peñarol.

[8] While he was injured, his older brother Junior quit the club and gave up football in order to provide for the family, telling him "you're better suited than me".

[6][7] He made his first-team debut in the Primera División on 22 November 2017, when he came on for Peñarol as a second-half substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in a 2–1 away loss against River Plate Montevideo.

[15] He finished his only season at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos as the league's joint fourth top scorer with 16 goals, led by compatriot Cristhian Stuani.

[18] Eleven days later, he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 loss against PAOK for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round replacing Pedrinho in the 65th minute of the game.

[20] On 22 October, he scored his first goals for the club with a hat-trick against Lech Poznań in a 4–2 away victory in a 2020–21 UEFA Europa League group stage match.

[22] On 3 December, after three weeks off through a COVID-19 infection,[23] he returned to action against Lech Poznań in the Europa League group stage, scoring Benfica's second goal in a 4–0 home victory.

These games caught the eye of Jürgen Klopp, with the Liverpool manager stating that he believed that Núñez had a "big career ahead of him".

[39] On 17 April, he scored a goal and provided an assist to help defeat the hosts Sporting 2–0 in the Lisbon derby, being named man of the match.

[40] In his last match for the club, on 7 May, Núñez scored a goal that was ruled out by VAR in a 1–0 home loss of O Clássico against rivals Porto, as they sealed the league title.

[45] On 30 July, Núñez made his debut for Liverpool in the club's 3–1 win over Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.

He won a penalty, which was converted by fellow forward Mohamed Salah, and scored his first goal for the club with a stooping header in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

[64] On 27 August 2023, Núñez replaced Alexis Mac Allister in the 77th minute in a match against Newcastle United where Liverpool were trailing by a goal and were reduced to 10 men.

[65][66] On 10 January 2024, Núñez provided two assists for his teammates in an EFL Cup semi-final match against Fulham, causing him to rise to the position of Liverpool's top assist-maker in all competitions with 10.

[70] On 28 January, Núñez scored against Norwich City in the fourth round proper of the FA Cup, becoming the first player in the 2023–24 season in Europe's top five leagues to reach double figures for both non-penalty goals and also assists in all competitions.

[85] Núñez was also in the under-22 team that finished in fourth place at 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, scoring in a 2–0 opening win over the hosts.

[103][104] Núñez is a disruptive striker with a dynamic range of mobility who can carry counter-attacks, make incisive movements around the box and strike the ball explosively.

He often makes adjustments to his footwork to find space in the box and he also uses his body either to avoid a foul, but forcefully enough to arrive at a cross ahead of his marker.

[103][104][109] His playing style has led him to be compared to fellow Uruguyan forwards Diego Forlán, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez.

He played as a striker and a left inside-forward in a 4–4–2 and 3–4–3 formations, with the responsibilities in these roles, shifting on Benfica's ball possession or counter-attacking approaches for games.