The golden boy of German football will be the new prince of the Premier League after Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool with Bayer Leverkusen for a club record.
Fresh from winning a 20th English top title, the Reds of Arne Slot broke the bank to land a rising star that is already one of the world's best by former Reds midfielder and former coach Xabi Alonso van Wirtz.
British media reported on Friday that the Premier League champions had agreed a deal worth a maximum of £ 116 million ($ 157 million) to guarantee the services of the attacking midfielder.
German reports claim that the reimbursement is even higher, starting at 130 million euros (£ 111 million) with add-ons that take it up to 150 million euros.
Five years ago, the abundant potential of Wirtz as a teenager led a row between his hometown club Cologne and Leverkusen then Leverkusen, which are supported by pharmaceutical giants Bayer, to sign him at the age of 17.
Cologne argued that a men's agreement to not poached youth team players had been violated, but Leverkusen said that Wirtz was a signing of the first team and had made his Bundesliga debut within a few months.
His turnout was interrupted by a cross -bladder stake in March 2022 that forced him to miss the next 10 months.
By the time he returned, Alonso was installed as Leverkusen -Baas and together they would lead the biggest days of the club.
Leverkusen ended the dominance of Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga in a stunning way, which is rowed to the title and the German cup without losing a single match in the 2023/24 season.
Wirtz scored his first career hat trick on the day that the title was sealed against Werder Bremen, on his way to crowned Bundesliga player of the year.
“Flo is one of the top players in the world, he is world -class,” said Real Madrid coach Alonso, who compared his protege with Lionel Messi in terms of his understanding of the game.
“Why is Messi so good? Because he knows how and when simple passes should play. Messi says:” You are in a better position? Here you have the ball, “Alonso added, a hero of Liverpool's Champions League triumph.
“It's not always about making the most brilliant move, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that. That's why he's so good.”
'Perfect for me'
Both Star Player and Coach have been committed to staying with the Leverkusen project for 12 months, but the defeat in the Europa League final to Atalanta to complete the 2023/24 campaign was a sign of things that are still coming.
Bayern recovered their hold on the German competition last season, but could not convince Wirtz to follow the leadership of many others by participating in their Bundesliga rivals.
Instead, he made it clear that his preference was a switch to the Premier League champions and the chance to add his name to Liverpool's Cast van Legendes.
“I am really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want something completely new to go out of the Bundesliga and to become a member of the Premier League,” said Wirtz.
“I also spoke with some players who played there and they told me it is perfect for me and that every throw is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I am really looking forward to playing my first game.”
Despite 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games for Leverkusen, Wirtz starts life in Anfield in the shadow of Mohamed Salah.
But the Reds banks on Wirtz's creativity to maintain the productive goal figures of the 32-year-old and to illuminate the burden of wearing the Liverpool attack.
The previous record signature of the club, £ 85 million Recruut Darwin Nunez, has not delivered and can be sold to earn back part of their most important editions on new faces.
Liverpool will hope that Wirtz can handle the pressure of his price tag and the physicality of the Premier League to ensure that there is no second season under end.