Liverpool FC are confident of completing a record-breaking deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen but another reason for the £126m asking price set by the Bundesliga outfit has been revealed.
Currently, the Premier League transfer record is held by Chelsea for the €121m (£107m) signing of Enzo Fernandes from Benfica but Liverpool will almost certainly demolish that.
Liverpool’s latest rejected bid for Wirtz stands at £109m with Leverkusen holding out for £126m. If a deal goes through, the German superstar will be the most expensive player in English football history.
And despite Germany being knocked out of the Nations League semi-final by Portugal on Wednesday, Wirtz stood out in an admittedly dry attacking performance from Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
But now, attention has turned back to Wirtz’s pending move to Anfield with some of the complications holding the transfer back now becoming clear.
Liverpool close to record-breaking Florian Wirtz transfer but legal intricacies may cause further delays
As it is, a delay in signing Florian Wirtz can be attributed to the intricate details being negotiated between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen but claims from German news outlet BILD suggest legal disputes between Bayer and FC Koln could complicate matters further.
Reportedly, FC Koln “is also involved in Florian Wirtz’s upcoming mega-transfer to Liverpool.
“The reason: FC Koln is entitled to a portion of the €150 million (£126m) transfer fee that Leverkusen wants.”
Koln sold Wirtz to Leverkusen in January 2020 for just €300k (£252k) in a deal that has since been shrouded in controversy.
Allegedly, a gentleman’s agreement exists between Leverkusen, Koln and Borussia Monchengladbach whereby they agreed to not poach their respective stars breaking through at youth level.
This pact was strained when Leverkusen signed Wirtz in 2020 when he was 17.
Now, with Leverkusen set to receive a king’s ransom for the sale of Wirtz to Liverpool five years on, FC Koln are ready to demand their pound of flesh to make up for the violation of their 2020 agreement.
“Of course, we are looking into it. We know what we are entitled to and will fight for it,” declared Koln’s president Wolf on Radio Cologne. “We’re looking at this with both eyes. We’ll benefit from it. The higher the sum Liverpool is willing to pay, the better for us.”
Liverpool will have to meet Leverkusen’s asking price in what is turning out to be a very complicated deal
Wirtz is a superstar. That fact cannot be changed by the sudden narrative shift around how good he is.
Yet, Liverpool will still be reticent to pay such a large sum but now that the reason for Leverkusen remaining firm on their £126m asking price has been revealed, it seems the Reds will simply have to cough up and make Wirtz the most expensive Premier League season of all time.