Florian Wirtz transfer news: Liverpool agree British-record fee for Bayer Leverkusen star
Liverpool have agreed a British-record transfer fee to sign Florian Wirtz; total package is £116.5m (€137.5m), made up of £100m plus £16.5m in potential add-ons; Wirtz is now free to speak to Liverpool; personal terms are not expected to be a problem
Saturday 14 June 2025 13:45, UK
Liverpool have agreed a British-record transfer fee of £116.5m to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
The total package is £116.5m (€137.5m), made up of a £100m plus £16.5m in potential add-ons.
The fee comfortably surpasses Liverpool's own record - but the performance-related add-ons, if achieved, would make it a potential British record fee, with the overall outlay set to surpass the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton in 2023 for Moises Caicedo. Striker Darwin Nunez was Liverpool's previous record signing in 2022.
Wirtz is now free to speak to Liverpool, where personal terms are not expected to be a problem, as he only wants to join Liverpool.
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The medical will happen next week when the player returns from his holiday.
Liverpool, like a number of top European clubs, had been watching Wirtz, who was one of the Bundesliga's most impressive performers last season, for some time.
Manchester City pulled out of the race for his signature, reportedly due to the spiralling costs of the whole package, and Wirtz expressed a preference for Merseyside over Bayern Munich, before Liverpool finally got the deal over the line.
The 22-year-old, who has spent his entire senior career at Leverkusen, scored 10 goals and registered 12 assists in 25 starts as his side finished runners-up to Bayern Munich, a year on from winning a league and cup double.
Wirtz scored for Germany in last Wednesday's 2-1 Nations League semi-final defeat against Portugal.
Wirtz follows his former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield after the Netherlands international joined in a £29.5m deal.
Arne Slot's side are also eyeing a deal for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
The Premier League champions have made contact with the Cherries but are yet to make an offer as they explore the conditions of a potential deal.
'Slot's tactics key reason in Wirtz joining Liverpool'
Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol:
Arne Slot's tactical plan was one of the key reasons Florian Wirtz chose to join Liverpool, rather than wages.
The playmaker will fit into Liverpool's existing wage structure when he signs his contract after completing his medical.
Wirtz will be on a salary of €12 million [£10.2m] a year, which can rise to €15m [£12.7m] a year if individual and team-performance targets are met, or between £195,000 and £245,000 a week.
Some of the biggest clubs in Europe were trying to sign Wirtz this summer and the player ultimately chose Liverpool over Bayern Munich.
Bayern were confident the 22-year-old would choose them last month and the narrative that he would only join them could have helped them negotiate a lower transfer fee with Bayer Leverkusen.
As it turned out, Wirtz was more open minded about his future and was willing to consider all serious options - the German ultimately choose Liverpool because he believes they represent the best move for his career and his development as a player.
Speaking in May, Wirtz made it clear he was not motivated by money. "When I moved from Cologne to Leverkusen [in 2020], I did not think for a single second about my salary, but only about what is best for my career," he said. "I also don't even care how much money I have in my account or what I could earn in the future.
"Of course, you should make sure that you get a good contract. But the sporting perspective is much more decisive for me than the money."
Robertson: Wirtz an exciting talent
Andy Robertson has described Liverpool's record signing Florian Wirtz as an "exciting talent".
Robertson played against Wirtz when Liverpool faced Leverkusen in the Champions League this past season but says he realised the playmaker was headed for stardom when Germany beat Scotland 5-1 at Euro 2024.
"He was excellent against us. He was the one causing problems, in the half space, running in behind, he can mix it up," Robertson told Sky Sports News at the AR26 annual Captain's Cup Golf Day fundraiser before the signing was confirmed.
"That was enough for me to see he's going to be a top player. In the Germany team against us he was excellent.
"If we get him through, an exciting talent through the door. We have already got a lot of exciting talent. He's a right good player and he'll only help us. If he does get through the door we'll be excited to play with him."
'Wirtz gives Liverpool different attacking options'
European football expert Andy Brassell speaking on Sky Sports News:
"He is one of the best midfield players in Europe. You look at the age, you will get 10 years of service out of him, notwithstanding any injuries.
"Someone like him really shows that Arne Slot wants to develop Liverpool into his own team.
"Wirtz gives them loads more options - he has played false nine, as a 10 or in wide positions. Liverpool do not have the centre-forward they want at the moment; it gives them a front three with a completely different shape. Maybe it turns into a front two.
"It takes a lot of the creative load off Salah as he goes into his 30s. He is a great player and so adaptable.
"He is costing a lot of money, but for them to get him, he obviously really believes in the move."
Why Liverpool have gone all in on Wirtz & how Slot could use him
Sky Sports' Richard Morgan:
A generational talent that not only creates but also scores - 44 goal contributions, in fact, across the last two German top-flight campaigns, including 21 goals and a Bundesliga-high 23 assists. That was the second most of any player aged under 23 in Europe's top-five leagues in that time, behind Chelsea's Cole Palmer.
Last season, for the second year in a row, Wirtz was one of only six players to reach double figures for goals and assists in the continent's big-five leagues.
One of the primary reasons Wirtz is both a scorer and provider is that he is right footed but equally adept at using his left, thus allowing him to effortlessly glide past bamboozled opponents into threatening areas of the pitch - as you can see in the video above.
The playmaker attempted a Bundesliga-high 313 take-ons, while only Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (231), West Ham's Mohammed Kudus (216) and Manchester City's Jeremy Doku (203) completed more than his 161 dribbles in the last two seasons in Europe's top-five leagues.
As a result, Wirtz created 124 chances from open play in that period across the continent's big-five leagues, a figure bettered by only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (150), Arsenal's Martin Odegaard (139), Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (137) and Palmer (134).
Read the lowdown on what makes Wirtz so good and how he might fit in at Liverpool
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