Bayern Munich director of football Max Eberl has suggested that they denied Florian Wirtz the shirt number he wanted, and then he joined Liverpool.
[SportBILD have an interview](https://sportbild.bild.de/) with the Bayern director today. He is asked directly about Wirtz’s move to Liverpool instead of Bayern.
The midfielder had widely been expected to join Bayern ahead of the summer. They had been eyeing him for years as he impressed at Bayer Leverkusen. Talks were held between the player, the club and his agents about a move.
All paths appeared to lead to Bayern at one point. However, Wirtz then started to look elsewhere. [A trip to England](https://sportwitness.co.uk/liverpool-held-florian-wirtz-meeting-on-tuesday-during-stopover-at-blackpool-airport/) saw him speak to both Liverpool and Manchester City, with him then deciding to join the former in a €137.5m deal.
Reports after the move made it clear that Liverpool had won Wirtz over with their pitch to him. This included Arne Slot making it clear that he would be a key player under him. The Dutchman’s pitch was reportedly key to Wirtz making the decision to turn down Bayern.
Eberl, though, has hinted there may have been another reason. That was their refusal to give him the number 10 shirt, which was going to Jamal Musiala.
_“We made it clear in all our discussions that we would have loved to have him at Bayern Munich._
_“He would have been a great fit for us. Florian then chose Liverpool. I wish him the best of luck in representing German football in the Premier League._
_“Shirt numbers are an important topic for players. However, the number 10 he wanted had already been promised to Jamal Musiala. We were completely transparent about that as well.”_
Of course, Wirtz didn’t get the No.10 at Liverpool either, with that being owned by World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister.