Liverpool’s club-record signing Florian Wirtz sent a major warning to the rest of the Premier League as he conducted his first sit-down interview with the club’s media channel.
Liverpool Complete £116m Signing of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool have confirmed the marquee signing of German star Florian Wirtz, who joins the Premier League champions in a deal worth an initial £100 million, with a further £16 million in add-ons.
The 22-year-old playmaker, widely regarded as one of Europe’s top attacking midfielders, has agreed a five-year contract at Anfield. According to Sky Sports, Wirtz will earn around £195,000 per week — a figure that could rise to £245,000 per week if individual and team bonuses are met.
Wirtz: “I’m Really Happy — Finally It’s Done”
Speaking after his arrival, Wirtz could hardly hide his excitement at becoming part of Arne Slot’s team.
“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,” the German international told Liverpool FC.
“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.”
Wirtz added that his decision was driven by the allure of testing himself in a new environment and relishing the quality of English football.
“I will see how I can perform there. I hope I can do my best. I spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it’s perfect for me — every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.”
Ambitions at Anfield
Asked about his goals at Liverpool, Wirtz made it clear that winning is the priority:
“I’m not coming here just to have fun; I want also to achieve something and give the fans what they deserve,” he said.
“Of course I want to keep going at this performance level. That sure gives motivation to achieve more. I would like to win everything every year. First of all, we have to do our work — I have to do my work. 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.”
“I see this as an opportunity for me to get better,” Wirtz concluded. “This was the right place for me.”
Here’s a polished article version combining the fan reactions and Wirtz’s Q&A:
Fans React to Florian Wirtz’s First Liverpool Interview
Liverpool supporters were quick to embrace their new German playmaker after Florian Wirtz spoke publicly for the first time as a Red. Wirtz’s winning mentality and hunger for success struck a chord with the Anfield faithful.
One fan wrote: “Elite mentality,” while another added: “Music to our ears! Salah is going to love this mentality.”
A third fan commented: “The right attitude from the off,” with one more posting: “‘I didn’t come here to have fun… I’m here to win everything.’ I love this mentality.”
A fifth fan simply concluded: “Just the perfect mentality.”
Liverpool Conduct Exclusive Q&A with Wirtz
Following the confirmation of his signing, Liverpool also published a Q&A with the 22-year-old on their official club website. Wirtz gave fans insight into his decision to leave Bayer Leverkusen and embrace the Premier League challenge.
Why Liverpool?
“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, and in my opinion Liverpool was one of them,” Wirtz explained.
“I saw myself in the best hands at Liverpool. I was really convinced by the people here, by the idea, and everything the club offers me was really good. In the end, it was easy to be excited to come to Liverpool.”
Was it an easy decision?
“Yeah, it was not that easy for me,” Wirtz admitted. “I am a German player, I play for the Germany national team. So it was not easy for me to decide, but the talks with the coach, Richard [Hughes] and everyone were so good that I felt this was the place I want to be.”
“Every time I spoke to someone at the club I felt even more convinced — and in the end, I was 100% sure that joining Liverpool was the best choice.”
What did your family say?
“I was probably the most excited when they told me Liverpool were interested,” he continued.
“My family was very supportive — I didn’t have to convince them about the club. Everything was so good and I also wanted to experience a different league. My family will love it too, to come here and spend time at Anfield. They’re going to like it as well.”
Wirtz on Growing at Liverpool
When asked if moving to Anfield will help him improve as a player, Florian Wirtz was unequivocal.
“Yeah, this was also a big point for me,” he explained. “I will improve my own personal level and my physical level because I think everyone knows that at Liverpool, the players are machines — really strong and really physical.
“But I see this also as an opportunity for me to get better in this area, so yeah, I just thought this was the right place for me.”
Facing Liverpool Last November
Reflecting on his previous experience facing Liverpool last November — a 4-0 defeat — Wirtz recalled just how intense it was.
“It was really tough to play here,” he admitted. “I was still thinking about the game when I spoke to the coach or the other guys afterwards. It was an example of what it can be like here.
“As I said, it was really hard. We lost 4-0 and we had to run so much, and we lost almost every duel. That just made me want to be part of this team.”
