Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has weighed in on Florian Wirtz’s ‘insane’ £116million move from Bayer Leverkusen.
The midfielder finally joined the Reds for a British record transfer fee earlier this month after a lengthy pursuit – which saw multiple bids rejected by Leverkusen – was drawn out for several weeks.
Wirtz, 22, signed a five-year deal which will run through the summer of 2030, and he is expected to be a cornerstone in Arne Slot’s side for years to come.
His first chance to impress in red may come just two weeks from now, with Liverpool set to face Preston North End in a pre-season friendly on July 13.
After their run of friendlies, the Merseyside club will face Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield final, before embarking on their Premier League title defence on the opening day of the 2025-26 season against Bournemouth at Anfield.
But Klopp has cautioned Wirtz that if he doesn’t start strongly, it will take only ‘two or three games’ for the pressure of his hefty transfer fee to start weighing on him.
Jurgen Klopp has labelled Florian Wirtz’s £116million transfer fee to Liverpool an ‘insane sum’
Wirtz’s month-long saga finally ended as he joined the Reds for a British transfer record fee
Klopp warned the former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder that it will take just a few bad performances for him to be reminded of his fee
‘There’s no question about it, it’s an insane sum, and one that a player at Liverpool is aware of if things don’t go well for two or three games,’ the German veteran told Welt.
‘We all agree that we’re talking about a great player here. I know I once said that I’m out if we pay 100 million euros for a player. But the world is changing. That’s just the way the market is.
‘He’s an outstanding player who can give any club something great. Whether he’ll make the reigning English champions even better remains to be seen.’
Klopp’s comments are a touch more measured than when he broke his silence on Wirtz’s transfer last week.
He said then: ‘This is going to be absolutely fantastic, I’m sure of it.
‘It’s very hard to strengthen a team when you’re champions. But Liverpool have managed it.
‘They’ve signed an exceptional talent in Florian Wirtz. I’m looking forward to seeing it. It’s going to be great.’
Slot’s vision particularly appealed to Wirtz, which is why he chose Liverpool over multiple other suitors, including Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Wirtz is expected to help Liverpool defend their Premier League title and aim for Champions League glory
The Dutchman plans to deploy him as an attacking midfielder, and it is believed that in games when Liverpool are dominating, they foresee Wirtz floating all over the attack.
Slot has also signed Wirtz’s former Leverkusen team-mate Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m.
Witrtz and Frimpong were crucial to Leverkusen’s invincible domestic double in 2023-24 under Xabi Alonso and were recently on holiday together.
Frimpong arrives as an attack-minded replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Liverpool got £10m for from Real Madrid just a month before his contract ended.
