Darwin Nunez appeared to voiced his frustrations towards his reduced Liverpool minutes in a now-deleted post on social media.

Nunez has not started for Liverpool since 8 March and it was claimed by a report in Portugal that manager Arne Slot was intentionally keeping him on the bench because of a clause in Nunez’s transfer from Benfica in 2022.

The outlet alleged Liverpool owe Benfica €5m (£4.3m) if Nunez reaches 60 starts across the Premier League and Champions League. He currently sits at 59 and, given he is rumoured to be on his way out of Anfield in the summer, the accusations are clear.

Slot has insisted he has no idea whether such a clause exists, arguing his team selection is made completely independent of behind-the-scenes circumstances like that. The Liverpool ECHO also stress Nunez’s absence is unrelated to financial issues.

However, 24 hours after Slot’s vow, Nunez took to social media, seemingly accusing the club of not being entirely truthful before quickly deleting his post.

“No wonder I didn’t play more, because the last game I started in the Premier League went well and suddenly…” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Nunez evidently attempted to cover his tracks with a selfie alongside Alexis Mac Allister, but many fans caught a glimpse of his original post and were left thoroughly unimpressed with the timing of the Uruguay international’s message.

Liverpool welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield on Sunday knowing just one point will seal the Premier League title. The Reds are already dealing with the distraction of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s seemingly inevitable summer switch to Real Madrid, with Nunez creating a fresh headache for Slot.

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