Bayern Munich have not taken Florian Wirtz’s decision well.
The German international, who had at one stage seemed destined to trade life in Leverkusen for Munich, has his eyes set on Liverpool.
Bayer Leverkusen and the Reds have still yet to thrash out the exact details of a move, but it’s fair to say that this is a player Bayern are going to miss out on.
That’s an understandably bitter pill for the Bundesliga champions to swallow.
Bayern don’t tend to drop German talents
Florian Wirtz passes the ball whilst under pressure from Bernardo Silva.
(Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
It’s in Bayern Munich’s DNA to attract the best German players to the club.
So you could forgive decision-makers at the club for feeling a little suckerpunched by Wirtz’s decision to opt for a move to Merseyside.
Whilst it will only offer a small amount of comfort, the Bavarian giants had been prepared to outgun Liverpool on wages.
However, the attacking midfielder’s move to England was not a question of money, but rather a sporting decision.
“It was a hard punch for the Bayern bosses to miss out on Florian Wirtz,” Christian Falk exclusively informed CF Bayern Insider.
“You can understand the likes of Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham deciding to leave the Bundesliga for top clubs, like Manchester City and Real Madrid, outside of Germany – as they’re not German. Going to Bayern Munich won’t matter as much to them. But it’s the first time that a German player decided against Bayern.”
“They were interested, and I think this is really, really hard for Bayern Munich. It’s disappointing to hear that it wasn’t even a question of money; it’s said that Wirtz will earn €20m-22m per annum at Liverpool. Bayern offered more – they would have paid about €24m – so, this is doubly hard for FC Bayern to accept.”
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Cody Gakpo holds out his arms next to Rafael Leao and Christian Falk.
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Florian Wirtz looks on with headphones
How did Bayern lose Florian Wirtz?
There are some questions to be raised over how Bayern managed to miss out on the footballer.
Credit to Liverpool head coach Arne Slot for presenting the more convincing proposal to Florian Wirtz. At Anfield, the Leverkusen star will be the beating heart of the team.
But FC Bayern had a convincing argument of their own in the form of friend and international colleague Jamal Musiala.
Is there not a world where the club could have replicated the international environment where the pair work in tandem?
It’s a huge shame, but not a killing blow ahead of the 2025/26 season.
READ MORE: The Bayern Insider: The truth about Cody Gakpo & Rafael Leao transfers