Liverpool on Friday announced the signing of German midfielder Florian Wirtz in a club record transfer from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, Afrosport reports.
Wirtz moves to Anfield in a long-term deal worth £116 million pounds including add-ons—£100m base fee and £16m in potential bonuses—smashing the previous club record of £75m for the signing of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in 2018.
The 22-year-old, who completed a medical at Liverpool’s training ground on Friday, becomes the most expensive transfer in the history of the Bundesliga, and if the add-ons in his deal to the Reds are achieved, he would become a British transfer record, surpassing Chelsea’s acquisition of Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in 2023.
“I feel very happy and very proud,” he told the club website. “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 spoke also with some players who played there and they told me that it’s perfect for me and every pitch is perfect, you can enjoy every game. I’m really looking forward to playing my first game.”
Florian Wirtz is a Red. pic.twitter.com/g8Sw65eGxT
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 20, 2025
Wirtz departs Leverkusen after a five-and-a-half-year spell, having previously joined their youth team setup from Cologne in 2020.
The German quickly established himself as a household name with Die Werkself, scoring 57 goals and providing 65 assists in 197 games across all competitions, including 16 goals and 15 assists in 45 matches in the 2024-25 season.
He was instrumental in helping Leverkusen claim a domestic double in the 2023-24 campaign, including winning their first Bundesliga title with an unprecedented unbeaten record as well as reaching the UEFA Europa League final.
Wirtz becomes Liverpool’s second signing of the season, following the arrival of Dutch defender Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen.
“I would like to win everything every year! First of all, we have to do our work, I have to make my work,” he added.
“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.”
The Germany international joins Chelsea midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Manchester City forward Jack Grealish as the only £100m signings in Premier League history,
