Liverpool have agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen for the transfer of Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz looks set to complete his move to Liverpool
Florian Wirtz looks set to complete his move to Liverpool
Liverpool are set to smash the British transfer record to land Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz after the two clubs agreed a £116m deal for the 22-year-old attacking midfielder. Wirtz, one of the most coveted young players in world football, will now discuss personal terms with the Reds, thought to be a formality, with a medical to follow before officially being unveiled as a Liverpool player.
Club owners Fenway Sports Group, whose more reserved approach to transfer windows when compared to some of their rivals has not always been universally popular among the whole Liverpool fanbase, gave the green light for a deal to be pursued, emboldened by a title-winning season in the Premier League and a return to financial strength in the 2024/25 season, with the club likely to post in excess of £700m in revenue and a return to profitability.
The deal for Wirtz has been widely reported as being a £100m guaranteed sum with £16m in add-ons for various targets achieved during the German international’s time at the club. They are all highly likely to be very achievable in the short to medium term.
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There had been talk around a potential sum of £126m, but at £10m lower than that, some common ground may have been found by a willingness of Liverpool to perhaps pay more up front than would be normal, or in fewer tranches, with Bayer able to benefit from a major cash injection.
Liverpool have shown a willingness to make such moves in the past, as with the Luis Diaz signing from Porto in 2022 when the Reds paid an immediate cash sum to allow the Portuguese side to meet some pressing debt deadlines that were on the horizon.
Liverpool have access to cash, largely through their revolving credit facility with the bank from £200m to £300m last year. The club’s actual cash at hand for 2023/24 was on the low side for a Premier League club at £8m, but the credit facility has long been a go-to move for the club to aid cash flow.
In terms of what a Wirtz deal at the value reported would cost the club, regardless of when and how much cash is paid to Bayer, and in how many tranches, the deal will be accounted for through the process of amortisation, which is the guaranteed transfer fee divided by the number of years in the contract. That has now been capped at five years for amortisation purposes, but players can still sign longer deals than that with clubs.
In that case, Wirtz’s annual cost to the balance sheet would be £20m per year, with his book value reducing with each passing year of his contract.
Liverpool’s amortisation costs for 2023/24, the most recently published set of accounts up to May 31, 2024, stood at £114m, the fifth highest in the Premier League. That figure would have been marginally impacted by the sale of Fabio Carvalho to Brentford last summer, as well as the signings of Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa.
The addition of £20m on the amortisation costs is significant, but Liverpool are likely to see some players who still hold book value depart the club, with the highest profile of those potential exits being striker Darwin Nunez, who still holds a £12.8m per year cost on the balance sheet until 2028 at Liverpool. His sale would offset the arrival of Wirtz significantly.
The add-ons would be accounted for via exceptional items as and when they occur. It could be Premier League or Champions League success, or Wirtz achieving individual statistical goals with the club that trigger the deals, such as goals or appearances.
In terms of wages it would be reasonable to expect someone of his calibre to command £300,000 plus. Using that sum, that would add £15.6m per year onto the payroll, which is likely to teeter over the £400m mark when the 2024/25 accounts are published for the year ending May 31, 2025 due to new deals, signings and bonus payments triggered due to the Premier League title success.
But with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s significant salary now removed from the wage bill, and his replacement in Jeremie Frimpong not on the kind of wages that Alexander-Arnold had been, that has provided more wage flexibility for the club to put to work in other areas.
Wirtz is a marquee signing and a statement of intent from the club and owners FSG. He is an expensive signing, hence the record price tag, but Liverpool have kept their powder dry at times when others have made moves in the market at questionable price tags. The club feel he will be transformational, but he is also very affordable given the Reds’ approach and the strength of their balance sheet. It isn’t breaking the bank, it’s investing from a position of strength.