June 21, 2025 - The news was first reported by several British media outlets earlier this month. Since then, everyone was quite sure that 22-year-old Florian Wirtz would join Liverpool. Yesterday, Liverpool officially announced the signing of the German attacking midfielder. His medical test was also completed at the club’s training ground on the same day.

Liverpool broke their own transfer record to bring Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. It was already reported that the total transfer fee is £116 million. Out of this, Liverpool will pay £100 million first. The remaining £16 million will be paid later as "add-ons", based on certain performance-related conditions.

Virgil van Dijk Signing

Earlier, Liverpool’s most expensive signing was Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk. They bought him from Southampton for £75 million in 2018. Now, by paying £100 million upfront for Wirtz, Liverpool have broken that record. If the add-on conditions are met, Wirtz could also become the most expensive signing in British football history. The current record is held by Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, whom Chelsea signed from Benfica for £107 million in 2023.

Wirtz scored 65 goals in 197 matches for Leverkusen. He is Liverpool's second big signing in this summer transfer window. Last month, the club also signed Dutch right-back Jeremie Frimpong, Wirtz’s friend and national teammate, from Leverkusen.

Creating a Buzz

According to The Athletic, the last time Liverpool fans were this excited about a new attacking player was in 2007, when Fernando Torres joined the club. After that, Luis Suarez and Mohamed Salah also made a big impact, but no player has created as much buzz as Wirtz.

Although Liverpool confirmed the signing on their website, they did not mention the contract length. However, BBC and ESPN reported that Wirtz has signed a five-year deal with the Premier League champions. His jersey number will be announced later.

After joining Liverpool, Wirtz said, “Every year I want to win everything. First, we must focus on our job. They won the Premier League last season, so my goal is to win it again. I also want to go as far as possible in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious.”

Bundesliga Debut

Wirtz made his Bundesliga debut for Leverkusen in May 2020 at the age of 17. Just 19 days later, he became the youngest goal-scorer in Bundesliga history at that time (a record that has since been broken). Since then, he has scored 44 goals in the league. He is the third-highest goalscorer in the Bundesliga since his debut. What makes it special is that the other players in the top five are all 29 or older.

According to the BBC, Wirtz was the most effective dribbler in the Bundesliga last season. He was also named Bundesliga Player of the Season for 2023-24.