Florian Wirtz opted to join Liverpool over Bayern Munich while Luis Diaz headed in the opposite direction in the summer transfer window.
Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl admitted he was not happy that Florian Wirtz’s rejection meant they subsequently signed Luis Diaz.
Wirtz was in high demand during last summer’s transfer window. Having recorded 57 goals and 65 assists for Bayer Leverkusen, helping them win their maiden Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season, the attacking midfielder gained a reputation as one of the hottest prospects in Europe.
While Wirtz moved to Merseyside, Diaz ended up moving in the opposite direction. The winger joined Bayern from Liverpool for £65 million.
Wirtz had a soft launch to his Reds career but he’s lit the touchpaper of late, scoring four goals in his past six appearances. His latest effort came in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Burnley. Diaz, meanwhile, has been scintillating at Bayern, plundering 14 goals and 11 assists so far.
Speaking to BILD, Eberl was asked if it was true or false that he was happy that Wirtz’s move to Liverpool meant that Bayern signed Diaz. However, Eberl have a magnanimous answer. He said: “Honestly, that’s not true, because we would also have been very happy if Florian Wirtz had chosen to sign for Bayern. He didn’t do it and preferred the Premier League instead. But we are very, very happy that we made another very good decision by signing Lucho. The two of them together wouldn’t have been possible. As I said, we’re not exactly… printing money either."
Wirtz had a difficult start to his Liverpool career as he acclimatised to the challenges of the Premier League. But the 22-year-old has made eye-catching progress over the past month or so and established himself as a key man in Arne Slot’s stuttering team. While the Reds rued dropping points against 19th-placed Burnley, Wirtz’s performance was undoubtedly the highlight.
Speaking after the game, Liverpool head coach Slot said: “You are talking about Milos and I completely agree – he had another good game. I saw Florian scoring another great goal and he was involved in a lot of other moments as well. Jeremie Frimpong, another good game of him – a big, big, big threat on that right side.
“But results don’t always reflect development and that’s, I would almost say, another frustration because it is also hard for the players to feel that we are improving, to feel that they are improving, if results are not as we want them to be. Of course, we can talk now about 12 [games] in a row without a loss but our standards are higher than not losing. Our standards are winning every game.”
Continue Reading