Florian Wirtz: Why I chose record-breaking Liverpool transfer and rejected Bayern Munich

Florian Wirtz wants to lead Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory after his record £116m move to Merseyside was made official. German star Wirtz, 22, completed his medical at the champions’ training base before putting pen to paper on a five-year contract worth around £50m.

Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is also heading to Liverpool after a £40m fee was agreed on Friday which will take the Reds' summer spending beyond £200m and with more to come.

Wirtz said: “I would like to win everything every year! In the end, we want to be successful. Last season they won the Premier League so my goal is for sure to win it again and also to go further in the Champions League. I’m really ambitious.”

Wirtz leaves Leverkusen having helped them to the Bundesliga title and German Cup in 2024 in a season they went unbeaten domestically. He scored 57 and created 65 goals in 197 appearances for the German outfit across five season in the first team and the attacking midfielder is regarded as one of the best young players in the world.

Wirtz had major interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester City but opted for Merseyside. Liverpool will pay £100m upfront to Bayer Leverkusen with the rest due in add-ons which are linked to both the individual success of the player and the team.

READ MORE: Florian Wirtz reveals what excites him about Liverpool transfer after completing £116m move

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The deal for the Germany international will break the club record £85m they agreed to pay Benfica for Darwin Nunez in 2022. And should they hit all the add-ons in the deal it will surpass the £115m British record which Chelsea paid Brighton for Moises Caicedo in 2023.

Wirtz added: “I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time – finally it’s done and I am really happy.

“I'm really excited to have a new adventure in front of me. This was also a big point of my thoughts: that I want to have something completely new, to go out of the Bundesliga and to join the Premier League. I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best.

“I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world. In my opinion, Liverpool is one of them. I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool. I was really convinced by the people here, by the idea, and everything what the club offers me was really good.

“Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club, I felt like ‘this is the place I want to be. And so in the end, I was really 100 percent convinced I want to join Liverpool. And it was the best choice.”

Kerkez, 21, will head to Merseyside on Tuesday to undergo his medical with the Reds. And their spending may not stop there as it looks set to soar past the £200m mark.

Jeremie Frimpong has already been signed from Leverkusen for £29.5m Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is arriving from Valencia for around £30m after spending last season on loan with the La Liga club.

Defender Jarell Quansah is closing in on a £35m move to Bayer Leverkusen and that means the Reds could move for Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi.

While a striker remains a target, especially if Nunez departs as expected. Newcastle front man Alexander Isak is certainly admired at Liverpool. Although, the Magpies are under now pressure to sell due to PSR rules so it would take a huge change in stance for them to suddenly listen to offers.

The Reds will offset some of their summer spending with player sales and they’ve already brought in £28m from Caoimhin Kelleher joining Brentford and Trent Alexander-Arnold signing for Real Madrid before the end of his contract.

With the arrival of Kerkez, Andy Robertson is mulling over a possible move to Atletico Madrid as his place in the team is set to be taken by the new arrival.

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