Liverpool break club record to sign Florian Wirtz

Wirtz becomes Liverpool’s second signing from Leverkusen during their summer recruitment drive

Florian Wirtz has joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for a club record £100m.

The German has signed a five-year contract after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Wirtz’s fee could rise to a British record of £116m if Liverpool enjoy sustained success during his first five years at Anfield.

The most expensive signing ever made by a Premier League club was when Chelsea bought Moises Caicedo for £115m in 2023.

Wirtz will replace Darwin Nunez as Liverpool’s biggest ever buy.

He also attracted attention from Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid but his preference was to go to Liverpool after he was impressed in conversations with them.

Wirtz becomes Liverpool’s second signing of the summer from Leverkusen after Jeremie Frimpong joined for £29.4m, while Jarell Quansah could join the 2024 Bundesliga champions.

Liverpool are also closing in on a third buy, with Milos Kerkez potentially arriving from Bournemouth.

Florian Wirtz has completed a move to Liverpool for a fee which could rise above £116m (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

Speaking after putting pen to paper on his contract with the Reds, Wirtz said: “I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time, finally it’s done and I am really happy.

“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.

“I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it’s perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.”

Wirtz was a crucial part of Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga title win in 2024 (EPA)

Wirtz smashes Liverpool’s transfer record as well as edging the wider British record, should Liverpool meet the criteria for the included add-ons. The Reds have previously paid £75m for Virgil van Dijk and £64m, rising to £85m, for Darwin Nunez.

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The highly rated midfielder also attracted attention from Bayern Munich but told the German champions he wanted to go to Liverpool and agreed personal terms with the club three weeks ago.

Wirtz has scored 34 goals in the last two seasons for Leverkusen, helping them win a first league title in 2023-24 across an unbeaten domestic season, when he was named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.

He was integral to the club’s newfound success under Reds legend Xabi Alonso, who guided them to within one game of a historic undefeated treble after lifting both the league and the DFB Pokal, only to lose the 2024 Europa League final to Atalanta.

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