Liverpool Signs Victor Munoz for €40m Amid Injury Concerns
Liverpool have their first signing for the 2026/27 season – and already a familiar anxiety has crept in.
Victor Munoz, the highly rated Spain winger, has completed a six-year move to Anfield after sporting director Richard Hughes activated his €40m release clause at Osasuna. The deal, split into two instalments, will see Real Madrid collect half the fee thanks to their sell-on entitlement.
It is a statement move. It is also immediately complicated.
Beating Newcastle to the punch
Newcastle thought they had him. Confident, advanced, close. Then Liverpool arrived.
At the insistence of head coach Andoni Iraola, the Merseyside club moved decisively for the 22-year-old, a former Barcelona academy talent who joined Osasuna from Real Madrid in 2025. Madrid declined to use their buyback option, opening the door for Liverpool to step through and shut it firmly in Newcastle’s face.
For the outgoing Premier League champions, this is becoming a pattern. Another head-to-head with Newcastle, another victory in the market.
Munoz underwent his medical on Wednesday at Spain’s FIFA World Cup training facilities, according to multiple reports. The images and headlines should have been about Liverpool’s latest attacking weapon being cleared to light up the Premier League.
Instead, attention quickly shifted to his fitness.
World Cup setback
Munoz had already linked up with the Spain squad for the World Cup complaining of a hamstring issue. The expectation was straightforward: a brief spell of managed recovery, then back in contention for Spain’s second group game.
Spain opened with a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde. Next up is Saudi Arabia on Sunday, a fixture pencilled in as a likely return point for the winger.
That plan has been ripped up.
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) has confirmed a fresh setback in Munoz’s recovery, putting his short-term involvement at the tournament in serious doubt. He has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against Saudi Arabia on June 21, and the rest of his World Cup now hangs in the balance.
“During the scheduled and individualized recovery process, an additional muscle injury has occurred that will delay his return to competition,” read a federation statement, as reported by Marca. “His availability for the upcoming matches will depend on the evolution of his symptoms.”
For Spain, it is a blow. For Liverpool, it is an all-too-familiar chill down the spine.
There is no suggestion that Munoz faces a long-term problem, no alarm over his broader fitness profile. Yet the timing is awful for a club desperate for a clean slate on the medical front.
Liverpool’s uneasy pattern with new arrivals
The word “curse” is not one Liverpool will entertain officially. Supporters might feel differently.
Last season, the club’s new signings were repeatedly dragged into the treatment room just as they were supposed to be reshaping the side. Giovanni Leoni, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike all suffered significant injuries in their first campaign at Anfield. Jeremie Frimpong and Giorgi Mamardashvili also endured spells of discomfort and disruption.
Every time a fresh face arrived, optimism spiked. Every time, it seemed, a scan followed.
This summer was supposed to mark a reset: new season, new signings, new rhythm. Iraola and Hughes wanted their business done early, their recruits embedded quickly, their training-ground plans uninterrupted.
Yet barely 24 hours after Munoz’s €40m transfer went through, news of his muscle setback filtered through from Spain’s camp.
A winger worth waiting for
Strip away the superstition and the frustration, and Liverpool still have a player built for their stage.
Munoz, a left-footed winger comfortable on either flank, has grown quickly since leaving Real Madrid for Osasuna. His acceleration, direct running and ability to attack full-backs one-on-one made him one of La Liga’s most eye-catching wide players last season. At 22, with Barcelona and Real Madrid in his past and a World Cup in his present, he arrives with both pedigree and room to grow.
Liverpool are not concerned about the long view. The contract length underlines that. A six-year deal is a commitment to a player they expect to be a core part of their next cycle, not just a short-term jolt of pace out wide.
The immediate irritation is obvious, though. Iraola would have liked Munoz to use the World Cup as a springboard – games, rhythm, confidence – before reporting to pre-season. Instead, the focus turns to careful management, medical reports and recovery timelines.
For now, Liverpool must wait and watch as Spain monitor his progress day by day.
If the so-called curse is to be broken, it starts with Munoz stepping out at Anfield not as another injury story, but as the quicksilver winger they paid €40m to unleash.
