After signing Germany international Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool made a huge statement of intent.
With the transfer fee projected to reach 116 million pounds ($156 million), Wirtz, 22, would become the most expensive player in British football history.
On Friday, Wirtz told the official Liverpool website, “I feel very happy and proud.” It’s finally finished, and I’ve been waiting a while.
I’m looking forward to starting a new adventure. I wanted something entirely new, leave the Bundesliga, and join the Premier League, which was another important point of my thoughts.
“I’ll see how I can do that there,” he said. I’m hoping to succeed. Some of the players who played there also told me that it’s perfect for me, that every pitch is perfect, and that you can enjoy every game. My first game will be really exciting to play.
Liverpool splashed out a club record to sign one of the best players from Germany and one of the best young players in the world, despite winning a record-tying 20th English top flight title.
Since he was 17 years old, Wirtz has been a significant first-team player for Leverkusen. He was Germany’s top attacking player when the team won the German Cup and the Bundesliga in 2023-24 without losing a game.
Liverpool was prepared to pay a guaranteed sum of 100 million pounds ($134.4 million), plus potential additions of 16 million pounds ($21.55 million). Leverkusen had a hand in the negotiations because Wirtz had two years left on his contract.
Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for 106.7 million pounds ($131.4 million at the time) in 2023, and the London club then agreed to pay up to 115 million pounds ($146 million at the time) for midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton later that year, breaking the Premier League record for an initial fee.
Federico Chiesa, a forward, was signed by Liverpool manager Arne Slot for the 2024-25 season last summer.
Chiesa was barely present when the Reds won the league by ten points, which caused Slot and some of his players, including Virgil van Dijk, to discuss the importance of this transfer window.
Liverpool has returned to the German club after reportedly signing right-back Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen for a reported 35 to 40 million euros ($39.7 million) despite having rejected a bid to join Bayern Munich, a Bundesliga rival that has long pursued him.
Leverkusen wanted a fee that was a major obstacle to that move. Another issue was how Jamal Musiala, Germany’s other outstanding young attacking midfielder, might fit into Wirtz’s lineup.
After Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid, Losing Wirtz leaves Leverkusen and its new coach, Erik ten Hag, with a bigger rebuild.
In a stadium that was awash with COVID-19 pandemic, Wirtz made his Leverkusen debut against Werder Bremen in May 2020, just after he turned 17 years old.
He became the youngest player in Bundesliga history to score a month later, but that record has since been slammed.
Alonso’s transformation of Leverkusen into a team that could win the Bundesliga and the German Cup without losing a game was a key result of Wirtz’s versatile attacking midfield play.
He and Alonso continued to play in another occasionally disappointing season that ended with Bayern finishing second in the league and losing to Bayern in the Champions League round of 16.
When a cruciate ligament tear in his knee prevented him from playing for almost all of 2022, including Alonso’s first games as coach, Wirtz showed he could handle hardship before leading Leverkusen to a league and cup double in 2023-24.
With 29 caps, Wirtz has played for the German national team and has become a key figure. At Euro 2024, he played on his own soil for all five of its matches.
He has also had to deal with hostility from Cologne fans, who he left for Leverkusen when he was 16 years old. Bayern and Liverpool reportedly had interests at the time.
Cologne claimed that the deal violated a mutual consent between the clubs to not pursue one another’s youth players. Despite his age, Lauterkusen claimed Wirtz was regarded as a first-team player because of his exceptional talent.
Since Liverpool is only 10 kilometers (six miles) apart, Wirtz will be the first person to leave his hometown.
His parents, Hans Wirtz and Karin Gross, are active in his career and are close to his older sister Juliane, a female Bundesliga professional player for Werder Bremen.
Germans are sceptical about Wirtz’s decision to reject Bayern and the Bundesliga.
Former German great Lothar Matthaus told broadcaster n-tv last month, “I wouldn’t have thought Florian would make this switch so early.” He wants to leave his comfort zone, though.
Wirtz appears to be the preferred choice. Compared to the difficult-to-reach Dominik Szoboszlai, who has a more creative approach in that role than 10 at Liverpool.
It’s unknown whether Slot will now advocate for a new striker in place of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez.
