Struggling Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz is enjoying an easier ride in the Premier League than he would have at Bayern Munich, says Thomas Muller.
The £100m summer signing Wirtz only registered his first Premier League assist last weekend, setting up £125m summer signing Alexander Isak.
Florian Wirtz’s disappointing PL season in numbers
1 goal + assist ranks Wirtz 169th with 101 players
1.7 expected assists (=52nd)
18 successful take-ons (=18th)
24 carries into final third (=40th)
27 key passes (=13th)
It’s been extremely difficult for Wirtz since his big-money move from Bayer Leverkusen, where he registered 17 goals and 25 assists across his final two Bundesliga seasons.
His signing was a very exciting one, but he’s simply been unable to adapt to the speed and physicality of the Premier League.
Wirtz could have joined Bayern Munich from Leverkusen but chose to challenge himself at Liverpool. It hasn’t worked out so far, but there is still plenty of time to turn things around.
Liverpool might be struggling, while Bayern sit top of the Bundesliga with 13 wins and two draws from 15 games. Wirtz surely would have adapted quicker had he joined Germany’s strongest team. But if he had moved to Bayern and performed at the same level he is at Liverpool, he would likely face even harsher criticism.
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That is according to Bayern legend Muller, who believes Wirtz would have adjusted more easily at Bayern.
He told SZ: “Florian Wirtz took an international step with his move to Liverpool. At Bayern Munich, he would certainly have found it easier to adapt to the football scene because he would have stayed in the same league.”
When asked about Wirtz struggling at Liverpool, Muller added: “That’s true. But that doesn’t compare at all to the volume of media attention a player faces when things aren’t going well for him at Bayern Munich.
“Here, you’re under pressure every day. As a foreign player, you don’t get talked about to the same extent.”
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Liverpool woes helping Wirtz form fly under the radar
🇫🇷🔵 Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, 22)
🇩🇪🔴 Florian Wirtz (Liverpool, 22)
Compare players 👉 https://t.co/McR5zrPkTO https://t.co/ZihST1gR3A pic.twitter.com/W4xLcsSQZE
— DataMB (@DataMB_) December 15, 2025
Muller’s suggestion that German players at Bayern are under more pressure and more likely to be criticised feels questionable, but we’re hardly in the loop with German media and fandom.
The English football press is notoriously harsh and reactionary, so Wirtz being criticised even more in an alternative universe where he’s struggling for Bayern seems unlikely.
It’s a strange one. If Wirtz played for Bayern, they would still be top of the Bundesliga, and Vincent Kompany has enough depth to shield the 22-year-old from excessive scrutiny.
At Liverpool, however, the team has struggled so badly that Wirtz’s poor form has gone somewhat under the radar. It’s clearly a collective issue, and despite his disappointing numbers and high expectations, there have been worse performers this season, like Ibrahima Konate.
But those high expectations still exist, no matter how poorly Liverpool have performed. Wirtz needs to prove his worth sooner rather than later.
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