Florian Wirtz looks ready-made to be a key piece of the puzzle at Liverpool
When the Bayern Munich charm offensive starts in earnest, few players are impervious to it. When months of public flattery and declarations of interest in Florian Wirtz continued past the Rekordmeister's title celebrations in Marienplatz and the departure of Xabi Alonso from Bayer Leverkusen, the whole of German football felt they knew which way the wind was blowing.
So it is an unpleasant surprise to Munich's finest to see the red jersey Wirtz is holding up for the camera is not theirs, but that of Liverpool, who have signed him in a record £116m deal. Make no mistake: this is an authentic coup for the Premier League champions. How Wirtz came to choose a future in north-west England rather than southern Germany tells us much about the personality, as well as the player.
The 22-year-old has been in the full glare of the limelight since he was 16. He made the controversial move from Köln to Leverkusen, was fast-tracked to the first team and given a full debut by Peter Bosz to surpass Kai Havertz as the club's youngest player a fortnight after his 17th birthday. Nineteen days later he became the club's youngest goalscorer in a defeat by Bayern. Wirtz has made every stage – becoming a regular starter, playing European football, making his Germany debut at 18 – look easy without the peacocking that often goes with such extravagant talent. When his pre-Euro 2024 ranking of potato dishes on the German football federation's TikTok account went viral (he put a 'normal' potato at No 1, with much public amusement following), he grumpily remarked: 'I don't find it entertaining at all.'
No one needs to tell Wirtz that what he is doing on the pitch is what pays the bills. His father, Hans, is his agent and adviser but Wirtz Jr knows his own mind. Hans has had a number of conversations with Bayern's honorary president, Uli Hoeness, in recent months and it has been reported that when Vincent Kompany felt Florian was not convinced by Bayern's pitch, Hans convinced his son to sit down with the Bayern brass for one more meeting. Florian agreed to do so but was not swayed. Liverpool remained his choice.
A move to Munich would have been understandable, even if it would have been a miserable sight for many Bundesliga fans. Staying in Germany a year before the World Cup, and reprising the partnership that he and his friend Jamal Musiala have for the national team as dual No 10s under Julian Nagelsmann, would have had much to recommend it. Not to mention, as many in Germany have, the possibility of a lighter physical load playing for the most dominant team in the Bundesliga as opposed to the clatter and crunch of a debut season in the Premier League. Wirtz is 5ft 10in but is relatively slight and, having taken 10 months and then plenty of match practice to come back to his best after an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2022, there is the feeling that he will need to be looked after, protected and carefully managed.
This, along with his game-winning ability, is why Alonso told the Guardian in November 2023 that, while all his Leverkusen players had the remit to interpret their roles as they saw fit, 'Flo gets a bit more freedom'. Wirtz has proved worth every bit of that extra licence to thrill, whether as a No 10, drifting in from an inside-left position, or even nominally employed as a false 9. Whereas many in his role are there to feed a star striker, his ability to be decisive in any ways needed, be it the last pass, the finish or a silky dribble to open up the opposition, means he is the star that the team should revolve around.
He has reached double figures in goals and assists in each of the past two seasons (10 and 12 respectively in the league alone last term) and turns up in the big matches. Wirtz adapted to his first season in the Champions League in 2024-25 as if he had always played there, scoring six times in nine starts before injury curtailed his involvement. It was his hat-trick against Werder Bremen in April 2024 that clinched Leverkusen's first Bundesliga title.
He will be stepping into an existing, and winning, hierarchy at Liverpool. His social media rubbishing of reports he wanted Alexis Mac Allister's No 10 shirt showed his respect for that. Yet it is not a leap to imagine him as an instant key piece. A front three of Wirtz, Mohamed Salah and Luis Díaz or Cody Gakpo would bring the champions in line with the amorphous attacking trios looking set to dominate the Champions League. Wirtz dropping into a 10 role to allow Salah plus one to create a de facto front two could work well, and relieve the Egyptian of some of his creative load.
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When it comes to a big decision, the Wirtzes take their time. That was the case when he joined Leverkusen in January 2020. Indignant as Köln were – believing their near neighbours had reneged on a tacit agreement not to take one another's players – they knew Wirtz's departure was in the post when, as with this move, the player and his family spent time running the clock before deciding to move 15 minutes up the road to the BayArena.
When Wirtz takes his time to make a decision, it usually works out. When it's time to take the field, he is far more speedy and decisive.
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