Liverpool fans are very excited ahead of the new season after the club completed the signing of Bayer Leverkusen midfield maestro Florian Wirtz for a fee of £116m on a five-year deal.
At Leverkusen, Wirtz blossomed into one of world football’s best attacking midfielders. His transfer to Liverpool made him the most expensive German player ever.a
In this article, FootballOrbit looks at his career so far, as well as his skills.
Career Background
He was born Florian Richard Wirtz on the 3rd of May 2003 in Pulheim, Germany.
His father, Hans-Joachim, is also chairman of Grün-Weiß Brauweiler, the academy that Wirtz started his career as a child. Wirtz has nine siblings, four brothers and five sisters. His older sister Juliane is a professional footballer as well.
Also, his parents act as his agents.
He spent two years at Brauweiler before joining the youth team of FC Köln in 2010, at the age of seven. He spent 10 years with Köln before joining Bayer Leverkusen in January 2020.
Notably, during his stint with Köln, he helped them win the Under-17 Bundesliga in 2019.
Florian Wirtz at Leverkusen
One of the reasons why Leverkusen convinced Wirtz to join them was the enticing prospect of fast-tracking his progress into their first team.
Upon arrival, he was integrated into their U-17 team, where he immediately impressed and showed that he was ready for the big time.
Breakthrough
Only four months later, Wirtz made his senior professional debut for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on the 18th of May 2020, starting in an away match against Werder Bremen.
Consequently, he overtook Kai Havertz as Leverkusen’s youngest player in the league, at the age of 17 years and 15 days.
Few weeks later, the youngster scored his first senior career goal for in the 89th minute of their 4-2 home loss against Bayern Munich. This made Wirtz the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history at the age of 17 years and 34 days.
Although, this record was later surpassed by Youssoufa Moukoko less than a year later, aged just 16 years and 28 days
Realising the massive gem in their possession, Bayer quickly persuaded Wirtz to sign a contract extension with the club until 2023 — barely a year after bringing him in (23rd December 2020).
He scored his fifth career Bundesliga goal in a 5-2 win against VfB Stuttgart in February 2021, becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to reach this benchmark before turning 18 years old.
Again, he extended his contract until 2026 on the 3rd of May 2021, the day of his 18th birthday.
At the end of his first full season, he played 38 games, scored 8 times, with the same number of assists.
2021/22: Injury nightmare for Wirtz
In November 2021, Wirtz netted his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season in a 1-3 win against RB Leipzig to become the first player ever under the age of 19 to score more than ten Bundesliga goals.
In December, he became the youngest player to reach 50 Bundesliga appearances against Hoffenheim — aged 18 years and 223 days.
Unfortunately, on the 13th of March 2022, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a 1-0 defeat against former club, FC Köln — which ruled him out for the rest of the 2021/22 season.
Before his lay off, he had provided 14 assists and netted 10 goals in 31 matches across all competitions.
2022/23: Recovery
In January 2023, Florian Wirtz returned to action; playing his first competitive match in ten months. He came off the bench in a 3-2 away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
He managed to amass 25 appearances before the season ended, scoring 4 times, with 8 assists.
2023/24: Season of glory
The 2023/24 season became the most successful in Bayer Leverkusen’s history, with the club throwing off their “Neverkusen” tag of never winning as they historically won the Bundesliga unbeaten.
Furthermore, they won the DFB-Pokal and reached the UEFA Europa League final.
Notably, Wirtz scored his first career hat-trick when he led Leverkusen to a 5-0 title-clinching win over Werder Bremen — which handed them their first German championship.
By the end of the season, the midfield maestro was voted Bundesliga Player of the Season as he contributed 18 goals and 20 assists in 49 games across all competitions.
2024/25: Consolidation for Florian Wirtz
In the beginning of the 2024/25 season, Wirtz helped Bayer 04 win the DFL-Supercup against Stuttgart on penalties.
Moreso, he made his UEFA Champions League debut on the first matchday in a 4-0 away victory over Feyenoord. He netted a brace and was named Man of the Match.
Additionally, Wirtz recorded a hat-trick of assists for the first time in his career in a Bundesliga fixture against Freiburg on matchday 15.
In 2024/25, no player had more shots against the post or crossbar in the Bundesliga than Wirtz (4).
At the end of the season, he consolidated his standing as one of the best attacking midfielders in the world as he played 45 matches, scored 16 goals, and contributed 15 assists in all competitions.
Ultimately, he made 197 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen in all competitions, netted 57 goals, and laid on 65 assists.
Florian Wirtz to become Liverpool’s midfield maestro?
On the 20th of June 2025, it was announced that Florian Wirtz has joined Liverpool on a five-year deal. The total package is £116m, consisting of £100m plus £16m in potential add-ons.
Moreover, the move could potentially eclipse the previous British-record fee of £115m that Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo.
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 reportedly pulled out of the race for his signature due to the astronomical sums involved in signing him as well as his salary.
Besides, Florian Wirtz’s preference for Liverpool over Bayern Munich was decisive in getting the deal over the line.
Ever since he burst onto the scene with a goal against Bayern Munich as a 17-year-old, it was believed that he would eventually end up at the Allianz Arena. Bayern had monitored and kept their eyes on Wirtz for many years, and it looked as if their efforts was going to pay off this summer, but Liverpool ultimately won the race.
Wirtz follows his former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong to Anfield after the right-back joined in a £29.5m deal earlier this summer.
“I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time. “I’m really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League.
Wirtz speaking after signing for Liverpool.
Furthermore, Wirtz became the sixth most expensive footballer of all time surpassing Enzo Fernández’s £106.8m transfer to Chelsea in 2023.
He also became the largest transfer in the history of the Bundesliga, replacing Ousmane Dembélé as record holder.
Additionally, his transfer represented a club record fee for Liverpool, succeeding Darwin Nunez’s move from Benfica in 2022.
International Career
Florian Wirtz represented Germany at youth grades from U-15 to U-21 levels.
He received his first ever call up to the senior team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in March 2021 under Joachim Löw. He debuted on the 2nd of September in a World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein.
He missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to his ACL injury.
In March 2024, Florian scored his first ever goal for Germany in only seven seconds in a 2-0 friendly match win against France. This saw him become the second fastest goalscorer in international football history behind Austrian footballer Christoph Baumgartner — who scored a goal in just six seconds in another friendly match against Slovakia on the same day!
He was named in Germany’s squad for UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil. He netted the opener of the tournament in a 5-1 victory over Scotland, becoming the youngest German player to score in the European Championship — aged 21 years and 42 days, breaking the previous record of Kai Havertz.
In the quarter-final against Spain, Wirtz replaced Leroy Sané at half-time and scored an 89th-minute equalising goal which took the match to extra time. Spain went on to win 2-1 with a 119th-minute goal, knocking Germany out of the tournament
So far, Florian Wirtz has been capped 31 times by Germany, recording 7 goals and 7 assists.
Florian Wirtz: Playing Style
Florian Wirtz is a versatile, right-footed attacking midfielder, although he can also play wide as an inverted winger, or even as a false nine.
A technically gifted player, he is able to receive the ball under pressure, and has the ability to break lines with intricate passes. He has also demonstrated extremely intelligent movement to exploit opposition defences.
One of the primary reasons why Wirtz is both a scorer and provider is that he is right-footed but equally adept at using his left. This allows him to seamlessly glide past opposition players the pitch.
A very good dribbler, he led the Bundesliga in take-ons (82) and progressive carries (131) last season.
Moreso, only Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (231), West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus (216) and Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku (203) completed more than Wirtz’s 161 dribbles in the last two seasons across Europe’s top-five leagues.
Supplementing those eye-catching dribbling ability is Wirtz’s precision passing, with the midfield maestro always looking for that killer through ball to open up packed opposition defences that like to sit deep — something Liverpool often have to counter.
The 22-year-old ranked first in the Bundesliga for through balls (49) and completed lay-off passes (123) last season.
Unusually, for a playmaker, Wirtz also presses well from the front. He won back possession 71 times in the final third last season — including 39 high turnovers — both the highest in the Bundesliga.
Likewise, he is very good at linking up the play, as shown by his 1,790 final-third passes — the second-most in the Bundesliga last season.
How does Florian Wirtz fit into Liverpool’s system?
The young midfield maestro is set to play a key role for Liverpool, with his varied skillset allowing Arne Slot to utilise him in different positions going forward.
Wirtz aids ball progression by receiving between the opposition’s defensive and midfield lines. If allowed, he will receive the ball on the half-turn and pass, or sprint forward, to build attacks.
His passing is out of this world and will add a final ball that Liverpool will be lacking after the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the type of passing ability that Liverpool didn’t even have in the squad when Arnold was there.
In conclusion, Florian Wirtz is not only a signing for now, but also for the future. He complements Mohamed Salah as they both play on opposite sides, meaning Liverpool do not have to be totally reliant on one player, like they did with the Egyptian last season.
However, once Salah retires, departs, or his output drops, Wirtz will be the mastermind in Liverpool’s attack.
