Liverpool have now definitively beaten Bayern Munich in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen
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Florian Wirtz signs for Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen
Florian Wirtz has signed for Liverpool after interest from Bayern Munich
(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Influential Bayern Munich figurehead Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is the last in a long line to share his thoughts on Florian Wirtz rejecting the German champions.
The midfielder did so as he chose Liverpool as his preferred destination almost one month ago, now his £116m British-record transfer has been confirmed.
Detailed negotiations over many weeks saw the Reds strike such a major agreement with Leverkusen, smashing their own club-record deal with the £100m up-front fee involved but also breaking the British record should the £16m-worth of add-ons be met over time.
This was all made possible as on May 23, Wirtz declared to all involved that Anfield would be his next destination.
Expectation the 22-year-old would remain in Germany - possibly by moving to Bayern as many top players from the country have done before - came to a grinding halt.
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Now former CEO at the Alliaz Arena and now a member of the club's 'supervisory' board, Rummenigge, is the latest to process their defeat in the market to the Premier League champions.
"Fundamentally, I think it’s a shame. We’ve always had the philosophy that the best German players should play for FC Bayern," he told Welt am Sonntag.
"We gave it our all; in this case, no one made a mistake. It’s Florian’s decision – and we have to accept it."
Even after Wirtz made up his mind, in their shared homeland Bayern were reported to have attempted a last-ditch recovery of a deal.
In the end it was not enough and Wirtz politely informed them that he would be signing for Liverpool were an agreement to be reached.
Fast-forward to the present day and Richard Hughes was successful in getting the £116m accord over the line one week ago, now Wirtz has arrived on Merseyside and finalised his next huge career step.
"I feel very happy and very proud. I was waiting for a long time - finally it's done and I am really happy," Wirtz told the club's website.
"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.
"I would like to win everything every year! First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work.
"In the end, we want to be successful. Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I'm really ambitious."