Florian Wirtz signs for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz is a Liverpool player
Florian Wirtz has become the most expensive Liverpool player of all time, after completing his £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz flew into Manchester on Thursday with his entourage and underwent a medical and the formalities of his blockbuster switch to Anfield at the club's AXA Training Centre on Friday (June 20).
The Reds will pay Leverkusen an initial £100m for the Germany international with a further £16m in what have been termed as 'aspirational bonuses'. Should Wirtz, who has signed a five-year deal until 2030, unlock all the add-ons in the deal it will make him a British-record transfer, eclipsing the £115m Chelsea committed for Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion two years ago.
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Wirtz, who had also been tracked by Bayern Munich and Manchester City, made it clear Liverpool was his preferred destination last month.
It's understood the player's father and agent, Hans, informed the relevant parties last month, which was the catalyst for the Reds to step up their talks with Leverkusen over their crown jewel on May 23.
After around three weeks of detailed negotiations, an agreement was reached with the Bundesliga side last Friday (June 13) after seeing a £109m offer turned down in May before a bid of £114m brought the two clubs closer to an accord.
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes led on the negotiations with his Leverkusen counterpart Simon Rolfes, who was in regular dialogue with managing director Fernando Carro throughout the process.
Wirtz, who has been on holiday with former Leverkusen team-mate and future Reds colleague Jeremie Frimpong, will now resume his time off before reporting for duty at the AXA Training Centre on July 7 for pre-season training. His official squad number will be confirmed later this summer.
Both players' unofficial debuts may come when Liverpool begin their pre-season schedule at Preston North End on July 13.
The huge transfer is not being viewed internally as a departure from the club's strict self-sustaining policy, imposed by owners Fenway Sports Group, but rather a transfer that has been facilitated thanks to the discipline shown since the summer transfer window of 2023.
The Reds had initially believed Wirtz would stay put in Germany and either remain a Leverkusen player or join Bayern and become the latest rising star of German football to move to Munich.
However, as the ECHO reported last month, Liverpool were ready to rival the Bundesliga giants and Pep Guardiola's City for the 22-year-old's signature and their charm offensive and the level of tactical detail explained by Arne Slot was said to have blown the player and his camp away.
It represents something of a statement signing for the Premier League champions as they go about strengthening on the back of a hugely successful campaign in Slot's first term in charge and completion of the transfer is likely to be seen as a huge feather in the cap of sporting director Hughes, whose negotiations have landed one of the most coveted young players in European football.
After formal confirmation of his move at 7pm on Friday evening, Leverkusen posted on their official X account: "Thank you for five-and-a-half magical years, Flo!
"Florian Wirtz has completed a move to @LFC. We wish you nothing but the best."
Frimpong was also added from Leverkusen at the start of the month after his £29m release clause was triggered, while a package has been put together to land the £40m-rated Milos Kerkez at Bournemouth to increase competition on the left side of their defence. Giorgi Mamardashvili also arrives this in a £29m deal from Valencia to increase competition for Alisson Becker in goal.
As the ECHO reported on Friday, Liverpool are also looking to bring in a younger centre-back should Jarell Quansah complete a move to Leverkusen. The Germans are now at an advanced stage of their talks for the England Under-21 centre-back, who is likely to become a club-record arrival at the BayArena at somewhere between £35-£40m.
Marc Guehi, of Crystal Palace, has his admirers but with the England international turning 25 next month and inside the final 12 months of his terms, any deal would have to represent value for the Reds as they assess the profiles of less experienced centre-halves with potential.