Darwin Núñez #9

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“One day you’ll see me playing in Europe,” Núñez used to tell his coaches at youth level in Artigas in northern Uruguay. His parents worked overtime to try to provide for him, including buying him shoes to play football in. “I don’t forget where I came from … My mother used to go out to collect bottles on the street that she could sell,” he said. Serious knee injuries as a teenager made Núñez consider quitting football but he chose to fight. A rapid rise took in Peñarol, Almería and Benfica before a big move to Liverpool. In three years at Anfield he won the Premier League and the League Cup. The 26-year-old is now in Saudi Arabia. He spent months without playing in the Pro League after Karim Benzema took his place as a designated foreign player in January. This will be his second World Cup.

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