Winners and Losers of Florian Wirtz's Club-Record $171 Million Transfer to Liverpool
In the first blockbuster signing of the 2025 summer transfer window, Liverpool has reportedly sealed a $171 million deal to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old is one of the hottest young talents on the planet, scoring 57 goals and creating 65 more in 197 games for the Bundesliga side across all competitions.
During his time with the Die Werkself, he has won the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, the DFL Supercup and was a runner-up in the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League final.
He also collected a host of individual honors, being named Bundesliga Player of the Season in 2023-24 and earning the Europa League’s Young Player of the Season award twice (2022-23, 2023-24).
Now, he’s joining the Premier League champions.
Wirtz will bring creativity, an eye for goal and attacking versatility to Liverpool, and fans will be counting down the minutes until they can see him at Anfield.
There are winners and losers in all transfer dealings. Read on for a handful in each category.
Winner: Arne Slot
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Apparently, Arne Slot didn't need any major signings to achieve success at Liverpool, winning the domestic title in his first season despite no major summer incomings. Even the one first-team squad member who was signed, Federico Chiesa, barely got a look in.
But that doesn't mean the Dutch coach didn't want new blood to mold the team in his image. He worked with what he had to great effect, and now he will want to put his stamp on the team.
The arrival of Wirtz is a huge statement of intent from the Reds' boardroom, signalling faith in the manager to build on the already remarkable success he’s achieved.
The summer spending window has barely even opened for Slot, so there's plenty of time for more big deals.
Loser: Bayern Munich
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It wasn't difficult to script a move to Bayern Munich in Wirtz's future, but it's not happening just yet.
The Bavarian club has a habit of plucking the finest German talent from the Bundesliga and elsewhere, and it seemed Wirtz would travel that well-worn path.
However, Liverpool moved quickly and decisively after wrapping up its 20th English top-flight title, and Bayern will be furious.
The German champions arguably didn't need Wirtz thanks to an abundance of attacking talent, but his arrival would have set them up for success for the next decade while weakening a domestic rival.
Winners: Bayer Leverkusen
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This might be counterintuitive, given Bayer Leverkusen had to give up their star player (and another in the form of Jeremie Frimpong) to Liverpool.
But the club is entering a rebuild of sorts this season following the exit of manager Xabi Alonso, and the huge fee secured for Wirtz (and the sum recouped for Frimpong) will allow incoming boss Erik ten Hag to make use of the transfer market as he shapes the team to his liking.
What's more, selling Wirtz to Liverpool rather than a Bundesliga rival will make that rebuild a little less tricky, potentially stopping the Bavarians from streaking unstoppably ahead of Die Werkself next season as they try to find their identity.
Of course, that might still happen, but at least one of their own won't be contributing to Bayern's success.
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Loser: Pep Guardiola
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It's rare for Manchester City to lose out when it comes to spending power, but according to BBC Sport, the combination of the transfer fee and wages to secure Wirtz proved to be too rich for the Citizens' blood.
While different players in how they perform, Wirtz looked like a good fit to step into the City starting XI following Kevin De Bruyne's departure, helping to make up for lost creativity and regular goal contributions.
After the club's worst season in 15 years, manager Pep Guardiola would have liked some good news. Liverpool didn't get the memo.
Guardiola has boosted his ranks with the signings of Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders, but losing out on Wirtz will sting.
Winner: Mohamed Salah
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Mohamed Salah chose to ignore suggestions that his Liverpool career was winding down and instead pulled out the season of his life, bringing the Premier League title to the club almost single-handedly.
That's perhaps overstating things, but 29 goals and 18 assists in the English top flight—just over 54 percent of the Reds' scoring output in league play—demonstrates the scale of his contribution.
Towards the end of the season, the Egypt international started to flag, with his goals and assists all but drying up.
With the next-highest scorer in Liverpool's league campaign being Luiz Diaz on 13, and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai following up on the assists chart with six each, it was clear Salah needed someone else to claim the spotlight and lift the burden.
Wirtz should provide some of the answers, at least if he can continue a run that has seen him both score and assist in double figures over the last two Bundesliga campaigns.
Loser: Dominik Szoboszlai
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The promise that came with the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai at Anfield last season hasn't quite been fulfilled.
The Hungary international does get a little sympathy, given he's had to perform two different roles under two different managers. Meanwhile, his work rate cannot be faulted.
However, the 24-year-old has not provided the numbers in terms of goals and assists that were perhaps expected after he arrived from RB Leipzig in 2023.
With Wirtz likely taking up his preferred position in the No. 10 role, Szoboszlai will either have to get used to working in a midfield two or else watch more games from the substitutes' bench.
Szoboszlai can adapt to a deeper role, but with Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch undroppable for most of the season, he will find it hard to muscle his way in.
But maybe Slot will decide squad rotation is actually a good thing by the time next season comes around, and things won’t look quite so troubling for the midfielder.
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