Florian Wirtz is leaving the Bundesliga for the English Premier League. After undergoing the requisite medical check, Liverpool confirmed that the German star had signed for the Reds. Bayer Leverkusen and English champions Liverpool have agreed on a transfer fee for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder worth around €150 million ($174 million) including bonus payments, which makes Wirtz the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history. The previous record was a total package of €135 million, which Borussia Dortmund collected from FC Barcelona for Ousmane Dembele in the summer of 2018. The Frenchman has been playing for newly crowned Champions League winners Paris St. Germain since 2023.

Wirtz is reportedly set to earn between €20 and €22 million a year at Liverpool. Alongside Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich, he is regarded as the biggest talent in German football. The 22-year-old developed in the youth section of Bundesliga club Cologne before signing with Leverkusen in 2020 at the age of 16. His Bundesliga debut followed shortly after at the age of 17. 

Wirtz's contract at Leverkusen still ran until mid-2027, making Liverpool pay the high release price for their future midfield hopeful. In his 140 games for Leverkusen, he scored 35 goals and added 47 assists. He played a key role in Leverkusen securing their first ever Bundesliga title and shortly after adding a second German Cup to their trophy case in 2024. 

The foundations for his almost perfect ball handling, even in tight spaces and against multiple opponents, were laid at an early age; at the age of four, Wirtz began playing at his home club Grün-Weiss Brauweiler, in a suburb of Cologne.His first coach was his father Hans-Joachim, who is now his agent and closest advisor, aiming to ensure that Florian's career progresses at the right pace.

"There were always footballs around the house, someone was always kicking the ball around, especially my sister Juliane, and I," Wirtz told national paper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and magazine "11 Freunde". Juliane, who is a year older than her brother is also a professional footballer who currently players for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. The pair are the youngest of 10 siblings. 

"We didn't have a television to watch, so we played football in the living room," Wirtz said.

"If I went to the kitchen to get a plate, I had a ball at my feet."

Fast forward a few years, the ball is still at his feet and led him to a Liverpool contract reportedly worth more than €20 million a year.

Wirtz is mostly known for his offensive power and creativity. His sensational solo run and finish against Freiburg in October 2023 was perhaps the best goal of Leverkusen's double season. Freiburg head coach at the time Christian Streich admitted afterwards: "You cannot defend Florian Wirtz."

His first career hat trick came at the perfect time in mid-April of 2024 when Leverkusenbrushed aside Werder Bremen with a 5-0 win to secure their first ever Bundesliga title with five games to spare. Wirtz had only come on as a late substitute and needed less than 45 minutes to hit the back of the net three times.

But his highlight-reel doesn't stop at club level. In early 2024, his first Germany goal, a long-range stunner against France, set a new record for the fastest ever Germany goal (scored after just seven seconds). Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann called him, Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gündogan his "three wizards." 

For all his attacking quality it is often forgotten how much Wirtz also contributes to his team's defense. He runs more than 10 kilometers per game, because he is constantly shifting, closing spaces, either running at the opponent head-on or chasing someone down in a sprint to win back a lost ball deep in his own half.

What is even more remarkable is that his most recent impressive seasons came off the back of an ACL injury that kept him out for most of 2022. He missed the World Cup in Qatar and his debut in the Champions League was postponed. After the enforced break, Leverkusen's coach Xabi Alonso, who has since moved to Real Madrid, carefully reintroduced Wirtz to the team in 2023. He soon looked better post injury than before. The simple statistics that season were impressive — Wirtz finished with 18 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.

For context, that total number of goal involvements in all competitions in Europe's top five leagues was higher than Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and the same as Phil Foden (Manchester City). Wirtz's assist tally was the most of all players in Europe's top five leagues He has now played nine Champions League matches, scoring six goals and will look to add to that tally with Liverpool.

In Leverkusen, Wirtz wore shirt number 10, which has a special meaning in football. Great players such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Lothar Matthäus have worn it over the years, leaving a lasting legacy. 

"Flo is a very special player,” says Xabi Alonso in the Amazon documentary "Bayer Leverkusen - A Dream comes true," which traces the Werkself's path to winning the double.

"The number 10 is tailor-made for him. He is one of those extraordinary players who honor this shirt number. There aren't many of them, but Flo is definitely one of them."

For Wirtz himself the shirt number has a much more personal meaning than just football: "I have nine siblings, I'm the 10th, so it's a number that suits me very well."

Edited by: Chuck Penfold