Florian Wirtz Named Germany’s Player of the Year After £100m Liverpool Move

Liverpool’s record-breaking signing, Florian Wirtz, has been crowned Germany’s Player of the Year, solidifying his reputation as one of football’s brightest young stars.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder, whose £100 million move from Bayer Leverkusen could rise to £116 million with add-ons — a potential British transfer record — earned 191 votes from German sports journalists. He finished well ahead of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, who received 81 votes.

Wirtz arrived at Anfield in June as part of a major summer recruitment drive that also brought in French striker Hugo Ekitike and Hungarian left-back Milos Kerkez, as Liverpool look to defend their Premier League crown.

Praised as “world class” by former Leverkusen boss and ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso — now managing Real Madrid — Wirtz has made his ambitions clear. Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, he said, “I want to win everything every year. Last season they won the Premier League, so my goal is to win it again and go further in the Champions League. I’m very ambitious.”

At Leverkusen, Wirtz was instrumental in their historic 2023/24 campaign, helping the club secure an unbeaten domestic season that delivered both their first-ever Bundesliga title and the German Cup. The only blemish was a Europa League final defeat to Atalanta, which denied them a treble.

With an impressive tally of 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 appearances for Leverkusen, Wirtz offers both creative flair and a scoring threat. Despite Liverpool’s already formidable attacking lineup — led by Mohamed Salah — the club is counting on Wirtz’s ingenuity to keep Salah firing and share the attacking load.