Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich has admitted he ‘begged’ Florian Wirtz to ignore Bayern Munich this summer. He got his wish when he eventually joined Liverpool.
BILD cover comments from the Leverkusen star today. He’s been speaking to the Spielmacher podcast from 360Media. And it seems he ‘begged’ him not to make the move to Munich.
The German midfielder joined Liverpool in a €125m deal from Leverkusen this summer. He was one of the major sagas of the early days of the window.
He had been linked with a move away from Leverkusen for months previously. There were suitors across Europe, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City all also linked.
Bayern were, for much of the summer, confident that they would secure his signature. They had been laying the groundwork to sign the 22-year-old for a while and believed they’d won the race.
Liverpool transfer was just what Andrich wanted
Robert Andrich
Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz and Bayer Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich will still be teammates with Germany
Instead, Liverpool managed to turn his head. That is believed to have happened after the player flew to the UK for talks with the Reds and Manchester City. Arne Slot’s plans for him were the deciding factor.
That decision certainly left Bayern surprised. While they’ve tried to play that down publicly in the months since, it’s been made clear in Germany that Wirtz’s move to Liverpool was a blow to their plans. They’ve certainly revelled, though, while he has struggled at Anfield.
While they were left fuming, it seems his Leverkusen teammate Andrich was celebrating. He had been working for a while to ensure Wirtz didn’t move to the Bundesliga giants.
“I said to him: Please don’t do it! Don’t do this to us,” he said about Bayern.
“I wanted it (the move abroad) and I told the Bayern boys that too. I’m happy for him that he took the step. I wouldn’t have thought that he would dare to take the step abroad (so early).”