Florian Wirtz is sitting in a room overlooking Liverpool’s training pitches, reflecting on the experiences of his first season in English football.
When the Merseyside club shattered their transfer record to buy the Germany international from Bayer Leverkusen last June for a fee of £100million ($135m), potentially rising to £116m with add-ons, it was viewed as a major coup following their Premier League title triumph.
Bayern Munich and Manchester City were also keen to sign one of the Bundesliga’s most exciting attacking talents, but Wirtz opted for Anfield. Trying to make his mark has proved harder than anticipated, but a turbulent, trophy-less campaign for Arne Slot’s side hasn’t shaken his belief that he made the right decision.
“No regrets at all,” he says. “I’m still happy to be here. I have big goals for next season because this season hasn’t gone as planned.”
During an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Wirtz is engaging company, as he opens up on a wide range of topics:
- Learning to deal with criticism on a scale he hadn’t previously experienced.
- The extra gym work, which helped him adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
- Mohamed Salah’s controversial social media post and why he liked it.
- How Slot retains the backing of the dressing room.
- His hopes of World Cup glory with Germany this summer.
Florian Wirtz opened up to The Athletic about the challenges of his first season at Liverpool (The Athletic/James Pearce)
Having missed the 1-1 draw with Chelsea due to a stomach infection and only been fit enough for a short cameo off the bench in last Friday’s 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa, Wirtz is hoping to return to the starting line-up for Sunday’s final game of the season at home to Brentford. Liverpool need a point to be certain of Champions League qualification.
It promises to be an emotional occasion as Anfield says farewell to two club legends in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson. Wirtz went out for a meal with Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez last weekend, some 24 hours after the Egyptian had caused a stir with his stinging critique of the team’s performances on social media. Salah suggested that Liverpool had lost their identity and called for the return of “heavy metal” football, a phrase synonymous with Jurgen Klopp’s reign.
“We had a good time at the restaurant. With Mo leaving, it was nice to spend some time with him,” Wirtz says.
What did he make of Salah’s post?
“Mo has known the club for a long time now. He’s just an honest guy. He says what he thinks. This should be OK. If you want to speak, you should be able to speak. Of course, it was a bit of a difficult season for all of us, including Mo. In my opinion, it got made bigger than it was. I don’t think he attacked anyone.”
Wirtz was one of a dozen members of the senior squad to like the post on Instagram. Given that Salah’s complaints about the team’s style were widely viewed as being aimed at Slot, some interpreted those ‘likes’ as a sign that they were siding with their team-mate against the Dutch head coach.
“No, nothing like that,” Wirtz insists. “I like Mo’s mentality in general — how he sees things, how he works. He’s a guy you can listen to because he has seen a lot.
“He wasn’t attacking anyone. With the ‘likes’ players gave, I think it was made too big. For me, it was just a thing that he wanted to say because he’s leaving. He wanted to make everyone in the club alert that we have to work more and do better.
“We are all anything but happy with this season. I think we can still make a little bit out of it by qualifying for the Champions League on Sunday. We have to do that. Then in the summer, we need to clear our heads and attack next season because we have a very good squad and we can do much better.”
Florian Wirtz and Mohamed Salah celebrating together (Kate McShane/Getty Images)
Defeat to Villa, Liverpool’s 19th of the season in all competitions, cranked up the pressure on Slot externally with a growing number of supporters calling for change. But Wirtz says the former Feyenoord boss still commands respect in the dressing room.
“The outside world is always trying to create something between the team and the manager. But it’s totally different in this building. We are working well every day with this manager and his staff. There is no thought about not being behind the manager. This is just something (talked about) on the outside.”
Wirtz’s status as Liverpool’s most expensive signing only lasted a couple of months last summer before Alexander Isak completed his protracted £125million transfer from Newcastle United, but the spotlight on him remained intense.
With a hefty price tag comes big expectation levels, and living up to the hype hasn’t been easy for Wirtz. In 48 appearances (40 starts) for Liverpool in all competitions this season, he has contributed seven goals and eight assists.
However, the underlying numbers are much more positive. With 57 chances created from open play in the Premier League, only Bruno Fernandes (95), Enzo Fernandez (59) and Jeremy Doku (59) have created more in the top-flight this season. The last player to be more creative in his debut season at Liverpool was Dirk Kuyt (62) in 2006-07.
Wirtz is also in the top 12 of Premier League players this season when it comes to distance covered, with an average of 10.6km per 90 minutes.
“For sure, the expectations are different when you come as a big-money signing,” he says. “But it’s just a number and transfer fees go up in general. Maybe I was the first one for this much money, not in history, but at that time last summer.
“You have to understand that it’s not your responsibility how much you cost. The price came because of my performances before. You have to keep it out of your head and just focus on yourself to be a good player.”
That’s easier said than done when criticism is ramped up. Given his size and technical qualities, the adaptation process was certainly made harder by his move coinciding with the Premier League becoming more physical, more direct and more focused around set pieces. Liverpool put him on an extensive weights programme.
Wirtz had to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“I hear a lot of players and staff members telling me how the intensity of the league has changed with a lot more duels than there were before,” he says.
“There’s still enough time and space on the pitch for me to play my football, but of course, it’s a different playing style than we had in Germany. I just have to keep going, believe in myself and then everything will work out.
“My playing style before was normally about not too much contact and moving into spaces. Here, you have to be strong every time you have the ball. I did my gym work to gain a bit of muscle, but not too much. Not really bulking up, but yeah, I had to get a bit stronger.”
He had to wait until late December to finally celebrate his first Liverpool goal when he scored what turned out to be the winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield.
“That was a good point for things to turn around for me a little bit,” he says. “Getting used to scoring again. For every footballer who is struggling with being involved in goals, to score or assist again, breaking that run gives you confidence.
“I think in the first part of the season, I also had some good games. I was a bit unlucky. People spoke worse about things than they actually were.”
Wirtz celebrates his first Liverpool goal (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Wirtz neatly side-steps being asked to grade his first season at Liverpool out of 10, but admits it’s been uncharted territory for him, given his previous career trajectory at Leverkusen and all the plaudits he received.
“I think that’s a thing for other people to judge me. I just try to give my best, I don’t rate myself in numbers. I got a lot of criticism this season, especially at the start. But it didn’t affect me that much. I just used the time to learn to deal with those kinds of things.
“I’d never really experienced it before. I just tried to work hard on myself and get better to ensure I could have more influence on games. When I look back, it’s not a season I’m just sad about. I could learn a lot and adapt to a new country and a new league.”
Who did he turn to during tough times?
“My family and my friends (Wirtz is one of 10 siblings). They were always there for me, giving me the support I needed, and believing in me. That gave me a lot. They often come over to England to be with me and that’s really helpful.”
He’s happy and settled in a house in Cheshire. Time off is spent playing padel or walking his beloved Border Collie dog Zuma. “I like the area and I’ve not been homesick at all. I feel like this is home now. I don’t have any team-mates living too close but everyone is only 15 or 20 minutes away from each other. There is always time to meet up outside of football.”
As well as the obvious challenges of moving away from your homeland at the age of 22, Wirtz walked into a Liverpool dressing room last July stricken by grief after the death of Diogo Jota. Robertson spoke earlier this week about how “nobody cared about football for weeks”.
“I didn’t know Diogo but I’d heard a lot of stories about what a great guy he was,” he says. “For me, things changed when I came here. Pre-season wasn’t easy for anyone. I could feel that my team-mates had lost a good friend.
“It’s bound to affect you. I just tried to be there for them if they wanted to speak with someone new who wasn’t there before. At the same time, I had to see if I could bring myself into the group.”
With established stars losing their way this season, signings still getting to grips with their new surroundings and injuries cutting deep, it’s been the perfect storm. Wirtz, Isak and Hugo Ekitike have only played 118 minutes of football together.
“Injuries have definitely been a big part, especially losing Alex for so long,” Wirtz adds. “We’ve had a few guys who have been out for a long time. There were times when we didn’t have many players on the bench and we had to put players in positions that they weren’t used to.
“Hopefully everyone gets healthy and then it stays that way next season. I’d like to play more with Alex and Hugo.”
Before then, there’s the small matter of next month’s World Cup. Wirtz, who has 39 international caps, is integral to Germany’s hopes under Julian Nagelsmann.
He missed out on the tournament in Qatar four years ago due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Germany are in the same group as Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
“I’m very excited for my first World Cup,” he says. “I’m in good shape. The one four years ago would have been a bit too early for me. This time I want to play a big part, take responsibility and help to lead the team. Hopefully, it will be a great summer.
“We have a good team, a good manager, and if we play to our potential, we definitely have a chance, but I wouldn’t say that we are the favourites. After the Brentford game, I go back to Germany, stay there for one day and then go straight to the training camp.
“As well as the World Cup, also in my head I’m thinking about coming back here in pre-season and knowing everything, knowing exactly what to expect. I’ll attack next season with everything I’ve got.”
