Darwin Núñez has admitted negative comments and criticism have affected him after a difficult end to the season. The Liverpool striker scored once in over two months in the Premier League and ended the campaign out of Jürgen Klopp's starting line-up.

Núñez fueled transfer speculation when he deleted Liverpool-related content from his social media pages. He had been the subject of unjust abuse after some below-par displays and also moved to block Reds fan accounts.

The Uruguayan has since emerged as a target for Barcelona, according to SPORT, but is believed to be regarded as a key player by incoming boss Arne Slot.

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Núñez says he tries to shut out any negativity that comes his way and backs his own ability to prove his doubters wrong. "From the moment you start playing and until you retire, there will always be someone who will criticize you," he told Por la Jersey (via Liverpool World).

“Before, I did look them a lot and it affected me. Whoever says that those negative comments do not affect them is lying, those negative comments that are directed towards you will always affect you. But now I ignore those comments because they are of no use to me.

"I'm not looking at anything, not even the good stuff. If a game goes badly for me, I rely on my family. What happened in the game is already there, it's already happened, and there is always revenge.”

Núñez was in the headlines again after Sunday's win over Wolves after footage showed him not clapping Klopp during his guard of honor at Anfield. He has had a good relationship with the German during his time at Anfield and recalled his words after the win at Nottingham Forest in March.

The striker had been taunted with 's*** Andy Carroll' chants by the home support but popped up with a dramatic winner. He added: "In that game, the Forest fans were singing to me.

"But I didn't understand anything, thank goodness. I ended up scoring the goal on the hour, and then the coach (Jürgen Klopp) in the locker room said 'screw them'.”

Liverpool.com says: It was a difficult end to the season for Núñez but this summer is a fresh start for everyone at Anfield and he looks to feature heavily in Slot's plans. Most Liverpool fans would agree there is a very good player in there but he must make tweaks to his game to reach the next level.