125 million transfer, zero gates
© Imago
After criticism of Florian Wirtz because of his previous achievements at Liverpool FC, Rudi Völler has faced the international. The sports director of the German Football Association advised the ex-Leverkusen and the most expensive German in football history in the “Bild”: “Florian shouldn’t be crazy. I have no concerns: he will show it to the English.”
So far, the 22-year-old is in nine games without a goal for the English champion, who lost 0-1 at Galatasaray this week in the Champions League. Wirtz only achieved a template when defeating Crystal Palace in the Community Shield – in the first nine games of the previous season, he scored six goals for Bayer. English ex-stars like Wayne Rooney or Jamie Carragher had recently criticized Wirtz.
Liverpool legend Carragher said the “Daily Mail”: “He is not up at all. At the moment, I think that he has to be taken out of the team so that Liverpool can return what it was last season, and then develop self-confidence from there and develop defensive stability. Because at the moment it is a chaos.”
Völler about Liverpool Wirtz: “Normal adaptation problems”
Völler pointed out that Wirtz played in a new league and a new club. “These are normal adaptation problems. Almost every professional has them. I have no doubt that he can make a breakthrough with his runner and playful class,” said the world champion in 1990 and former DFB team boss.
Wirtz switched from Bayer Leverkusen to the traditional English club for 125 million euros in summer and has a contract there until mid -2030, which should bring him over 20 million euros gross per season. Thanks to bonuses, the transfer can increase to up to EUR 150 million. In addition to Jamal Musiala, this transfer made the most expensive German player in football history. In the Premier League, Wirtz is the second most tax purchase of the Ligah history and the most third-value player-the expectations of the 22-year-old are accordingly high.