Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Florian Wirtz

German footballer (born 2003) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Florian Wirtz
Remove ads

Florian Richard Wirtz (German pronunciation: [ˈfloːriːˌɑːn ˈvɪɾt͡s]; born 3 May 2003) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Germany national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in the world.[4][5][6][7]

Quick facts Personal information, Full name ...

Wirtz rose through the youth system at 1. FC Köln before moving to Bayer Leverkusen in 2020. He made his first team debut at the age of 17, becoming the youngest scorer in Bundesliga history.[8] He played a pivotal role in Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double in the 2023–24 season, earning Bundesliga Player of the Season honours and recording 18 goals in 49 appearances.[9] In June 2025, Wirtz transferred to Liverpool for a club-record fee (approximately £100 million plus bonuses), marking a high‑profile move in his emerging career.[9]

Internationally, Wirtz debuted for Germany in September 2021 after representing the country at various youth levels. He later became the youngest ever goalscorer for Germany in the history of the European Championships after he scored a goal against Scotland at UEFA Euro 2024.

Remove ads

Early life

Wirtz was born in the Brauweiler district of Pulheim, North Rhine-Westphalia.[10]

Club career

Summarize
Perspective

Early career

Regarded as a big talent in German football, Wirtz joined the youth team of 1. FC Köln in 2010, where he remained until he was signed by Bayer Leverkusen in January 2020.[11] His transfer to Leverkusen was controversial, as Köln felt that Leverkusen violated a gentleman's agreement between the two clubs in signing Wirtz.[12]

Bayer Leverkusen

2020: Professional debut

After impressing for the under-17 team, Wirtz made his senior professional debut for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on 18 May 2020, starting in an away match against Werder Bremen.[13] In doing so, he overtook Kai Havertz as Leverkusen's youngest player in the league, at the age of 17 years and 15 days.[14] On 6 June, Wirtz scored his first goal for Leverkusen in the 89th minute of their 4–2 home loss against Bayern Munich, making Wirtz the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history at the age of 17 years and 34 days.[15] This record would later be surpassed by Youssoufa Moukoko less than a year later, aged 16 years and 28 days.[16] On 22 October, he scored his first goal in European competitions in a 6–2 win over Nice during the 2020–21 Europa League.[17]

2020–23: Contract extension and long-term injury

Wirtz signed a contract extension with the club on 23 December 2020, extending his deal until 2023.[18] On 19 January 2021, he scored the winner in the 80th minute of Leverkusen's 2–1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund.[19] Wirtz scored his fifth career Bundesliga goal in a 5–2 win against VfB Stuttgart on 6 February, becoming the first player in league history to reach this benchmark before turning eighteen years old.[20] He extended his contract until 2026 on 3 May 2021, the day of his 18th birthday.[21] On 28 November 2021, Wirtz netted his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season in a 3–1 win against RB Leipzig to become the first player under the age of 19 to score more than ten Bundesliga goals.[22] On 15 December, in a match against TSG Hoffenheim, he became the youngest player to reach 50 Bundesliga appearances at the age of 18 years and 223 days.[23]

On 13 March 2022, Wirtz tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a 1–0 defeat against 1. FC Köln, resulting in him missing the rest of the 2021–22 Bundesliga season.[24] On 22 January 2023, he played his first competitive match in ten months, coming off the bench in a 3–2 away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.[25]

2023–24: Domestic double and player of the season award

On 26 October 2023, he scored a goal and provided a hat-trick of assists in a 5–1 victory over Qarabağ during the 2023–24 Europa League group stage.[26] On 14 April 2024, Wirtz scored his first career hat-trick, leading his team to a historic 5–0 title-clinching win over Werder Bremen, which gave Bayer their first German championship.[27] By the end of the season, he would win the DFB-Pokal final following a 1–0 victory over Kaiserslautern as well as reach the final of the UEFA Europa League. With twenty-two goal involvements throughout the season for his club in Bundesliga, he was voted player of the season.[28]

2024–25: DFL-Supercup title, Champions League debut and departure

Thumb
Wirtz taking a penalty in a UEFA Champions League game against Red Bull Salzburg in November 2024.

In the beginning of the 2024–25 season, Wirtz would win the DFL-Supercup with his team against VfB Stuttgart on penalties.[29] He made his UEFA Champions League debut on the first matchday in a 4–0 away victory over Feyenoord, in which he scored a first-half brace and was named man of the match.[30] Wirtz would go on to achieve this honour in four further matches against AC Milan, Brest, Red Bull Salzburg and Sparta Prague, three of which he scored in; his five man of the match awards was more than any other player that season.[31] He also became the first German player to score five goals in five Champions League matches.[32] His side would eventually be knocked out in the round of 16 by fellow Bundesliga side Bayern Munich 5–0 on aggregate, of which he missed the second leg match due to injury.[33]

Liverpool

On 20 June 2025, Wirtz joined Premier League club Liverpool on a long-term contract for a reported fee of depending on the source £100 million (€117.5 million) or £107 million (€125 million), with £16 million (€18.8 million) or €25 million in bonuses.[34][35] Wirtz became the sixth most expensive footballer of all time, and also became the largest transfer in the history of the Bundesliga, replacing Ousmane Dembélé as record holder.[35] His transfer represented a club record fee for Liverpool, succeeding Darwin Núñez's move from Benfica in 2022, as well as a potential British record transfer, should the add-ons be activated.[36][37]

Wirtz made his debut for Liverpool on 10 August in the FA Community Shield against Crystal Palace, recording an assist in a 2–2 draw in normal time, though his side would eventually lose 3–2 on penalties.[38] On 15 August, he made his league debut for Liverpool in a late 4–2 win over Bournemouth.[39] Later that year, on 22 October, he provided his first two assists in a 5–1 away victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.[40] Two months later, on 20 December, he recorded his first Premier League assist in a 2–1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur.[41]

Remove ads

International career

Summarize
Perspective

Youth

Wirtz represented Germany at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-21 levels. While playing for the U21 side at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, he scored twice in a 2–1 semi-final victory against the Netherlands as Germany went on to win the tournament.[42]

Senior

2020–24: Debut and first goals

In March 2021, Wirtz received his first call up to the German senior team from manager Joachim Löw for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia.[43] He later made his debut on 2 September in another World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein, coming on as a substitute for Joshua Kimmich in a 2–0 away victory for the Germans.[44]

In May 2022, coach Hansi Flick expressed his willingness to name Wirtz in the final squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, though he ultimately missed the tournament due to his ACL injury.[45]

On 23 March 2024, he scored his first senior goal for Germany seven seconds into a friendly match against France, a 2–0 away victory, becoming the second fastest goalscorer in international football history behind Austrian footballer Christoph Baumgartner, who scored a goal in just six seconds in another friendly match against Slovakia on the same day.[46][47]

2024–25: Euros and Nations League

On 7 June 2024, Wirtz was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024.[48] On 14 June, he netted the opener of the tournament in a 5–1 victory over Scotland, becoming the youngest German player to score in the European Championship, aged 21 years and 42 days, breaking the previous record set by Kai Havertz.[49] In the quarter-final against Spain, Wirtz replaced Leroy Sané at half-time and scored an 89th-minute equalising goal which took the match to extra time. Spain went on to win 2–1 with a 119th-minute goal, knocking Germany out of the tournament.[50]

On 7 September 2024, Wirtz made his UEFA Nations League debut in their opening group match against Hungary, scoring a goal and providing an assist in a 5–0 victory.[51] On matchday five of the competition, he netted the first free kick of his professional career as he scored a brace in a 7–0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.[52] He would eventually top the group stage with his country and qualify for the quarter-finals against Italy, which he missed due to injury, but which Germany went on to win. In the semi-finals, he scored to give Germany the lead against Portugal, though his side were eventually eliminated from the tournament following a 2–1 defeat.[53]

Remove ads

Style of play

Wirtz is a versatile attacking midfielder, although he can also play wide as an inverted winger. He was also sometimes used as a forward or a false nine by Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. His outstanding technique helps him to quickly find solutions to set up his teammates while simultaneously having an offensive drive himself. He combines this with a good sense of space and the right pass or cross, but also poses a potent threat himself.[54][55] Wirtz has been noted particularly for his off-the-ball movement and high work rate, covering a lot of ground and playing in many areas of the pitch.[56]

Remove ads

Personal life

Wirtz's parents are his agents; his father, Hans-Joachim, is also chairman of Grün-Weiß Brauweiler, the club that Wirtz played for as a child before joining Köln.[57] Wirtz has nine siblings, four brothers and five sisters.[58] His older sister Juliane is a professional footballer as well.[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 December 2025[10][59]
More information Club, Season ...
  1. [a]
    Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
  2. [b]
    Includes EFL Cup
  3. [c]
    Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. [d]
    Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. [e]
    Appearance in DFL-Supercup
  6. [f]
    Appearance in FA Community Shield

International

As of match played 17 November 2025[10]
More information National team, Year ...
As of match played 17 November 2025[10]
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
More information No., Date ...
Remove ads

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

Germany U21

Individual

Remove ads

References

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads