_(cropped).jpg) Wirtz withBayer Leverkusen in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Florian Richard Wirtz[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2003-05-03)3 May 2003 (age 22)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Pulheim, Germany | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder,left winger,forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Liverpool | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2020 | 1. FC Köln | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Bayer Leverkusen | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2025 | Bayer Leverkusen | 140 | (35) | ||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Liverpool | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Germany U15 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Germany U16 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Germany U17 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Germany U21 | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Germany | 37 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:17, 9 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:00, 17 November 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Florian Richard Wirtz (born 3 May 2003) is a German professionalfootballer who plays as anattacking midfielder forPremier League clubLiverpool and theGermany national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in the world.[4][5][6][7]
Wirtz rose through the youth system at1. FC Köln before moving toBayer Leverkusen in 2020. He made his first team debut at the age of 17, becoming the youngest scorer inBundesliga history.[8] He played a pivotal role in Leverkusen’sunbeaten 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 toLiverpool 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 forGermany in the history of theEuropean Championships after he scored a goal againstScotland atUEFA Euro 2024.
Wirtz was born in theBrauweiler district ofPulheim,North Rhine-Westphalia.[10]
Regarded as a big talent in German football, Wirtz joined the youth team of1. FC Köln in 2010, where he remained until he was signed byBayer 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]
After impressing for the under-17 team, Wirtz made his senior professional debut for Leverkusen in theBundesliga on 18 May 2020, starting in an away match againstWerder Bremen.[13] In doing so, he overtookKai 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 againstBayern 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 byYoussoufa 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 overNice during the2020–21 Europa League.[17]
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 overBorussia Dortmund.[19] Wirtz scored his fifth career Bundesliga goal in a 5–2 win againstVfB 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 againstRB 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 againstTSG 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 hisanterior cruciate ligament in a 1–0 defeat against 1. FC Köln, resulting in him missing the rest of the2021–22 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 overBorussia Mönchengladbach.[25]
On 26 October 2023, he scored a goal and provided a hat-trick of assists in a 5–1 victory overQarabağ during the2023–24 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 overWerder Bremen, which gave Bayer their firstGerman championship.[27] By the end of the season, he would win theDFB-Pokal final following a 1–0 victory overKaiserslautern as well as reach thefinal of theUEFA Europa League. With twenty-two goal involvements throughout the season for his club in Bundesliga, he was voted player of the season.[28]
In the beginning of the2024–25 season, Wirtz would win theDFL-Supercup with his team againstVfB Stuttgart on penalties.[29] He made hisUEFA Champions League debut on the first matchday in a 4–0 away victory overFeyenoord, in which he scored a first-half brace and was namedman of the match.[30] Wirtz would go on to achieve this honour in four further matches againstAC Milan,Brest,Red Bull Salzburg andSparta Prague, three of which he scored in; his five man of the match awards was more than any other player thatseason.[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]
On 20 June 2025, Wirtz joinedPremier League clubLiverpool 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 theBundesliga, replacingOusmane Dembélé as record holder.[35] His transfer represented a club record fee for Liverpool, succeedingDarwin Núñez's move fromBenfica in 2022, as well as a potentialBritish record transfer, should the add-ons be activated.[36][37]
Wirtz made his debut for Liverpool on 10 August in theFA Community Shield againstCrystal Palace, recording an assist in a 2–2 draw in normal time, though his side would eventually lose 3–2 onpenalties.[38] On 15 August, he made his league debut for Liverpool in a late 4–2 win overBournemouth.[39] Later that year, on 22 October, he provided his first two assists in a 5–1 away victory overEintracht Frankfurt in theChampions League.[40]
Wirtz represented Germany atunder-15,under-16,under-17 andunder-21 levels. While playing for the U21 side at the2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, he scored twice in a 2–1 semi-final victory against theNetherlands as Germany went on to win the tournament.[41]
In March 2021, Wirtz received his first call up to the German senior team from managerJoachim Löw for2022 FIFA World Cupqualifying matches againstIceland,Romania andNorth Macedonia.[42] He later made his debut on 2 September in anotherWorld Cup qualifier againstLiechtenstein, coming on as a substitute forJoshua Kimmich in a 2–0 away victory for the Germans.[43]
In May 2022, coachHansi 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.[44]
On 23 March 2024, he scored his first senior goal for Germany seven seconds into a friendly match againstFrance, a 2–0 away victory, becoming the second fastest goalscorer in international football history behindAustrian footballerChristoph Baumgartner, who scored a goal in just six seconds in another friendly match againstSlovakia on the same day.[45][46]
On 7 June 2024, Wirtz was named in Germany's squad forUEFA Euro 2024.[47] On 14 June, he netted the opener of the tournament in a 5–1 victory overScotland, becoming the youngest German player to score in theEuropean Championship, aged 21 years and 42 days, breaking the previous record set by Kai Havertz.[48] In thequarter-final againstSpain, Wirtz replacedLeroy 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.[49]
On 7 September 2024, Wirtz made hisUEFA Nations League debut in their opening group match againstHungary, scoring a goal and providing an assist in a 5–0 victory.[50] On matchday five of thecompetition, he netted the firstfree kick of his professional career as he scored a brace in a 7–0 win overBosnia and Herzegovina.[51] He would eventually top the group stage with his country and qualify for the quarter-finals againstItaly, which he missed due to injury, but which Germany went on to win. In thesemi-finals, he scored to give Germany the lead againstPortugal, though his side were eventually eliminated from the tournament following a 2–1 defeat.[52]
Wirtz is a versatile attacking midfielder, although he can also play wide as an invertedwinger. He was also sometimes used as aforward or afalse nine byXabi Alonso atBayer 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.[53][54] 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.[55]
Wirtz's parents are his agents; his father, Hans-Joachim, is also chairman ofGrün-Weiß Brauweiler, the club that Wirtz played for as a child before joiningKöln.[56] Wirtz has nine siblings, four brothers and five sisters.[57] His older sisterJuliane is a professional footballer as well.[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 29 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 7[c] | 2 | — | 38 | 8 | |||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 24 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[c] | 3 | — | 31 | 10 | |||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 3 | — | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 32 | 11 | 6 | 3 | — | 11[c] | 4 | — | 49 | 18 | |||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 31 | 10 | 4 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 6 | 1[e] | 0 | 45 | 16 | ||
| Total | 140 | 35 | 14 | 4 | — | 42 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 197 | 57 | |||
| Liverpool | 2025–26 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Career total | 151 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 213 | 57 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | |||
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 15 | 6 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | |
| Total | 37 | 8 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 March 2024 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon, France | 15 |  France | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [59] |
| 2 | 14 June 2024 | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany | 19 |  Scotland | 1–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 2024 | [60] |
| 3 | 5 July 2024 | MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany | 23 |  Spain | 1–1 | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | UEFA Euro 2024 | [61] |
| 4 | 7 September 2024 | Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany | 24 |  Hungary | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [62] |
| 5 | 16 November 2024 | Europa-Park Stadion, Freiburg, Germany | 28 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A | [63] |
| 6 | 5–0 | |||||||
| 7 | 4 June 2025 | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany | 30 |  Portugal | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals | [64] |
| 8 | 7 September 2025 | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany | 33 |  Northern Ireland | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [65] |
Bayer Leverkusen
Germany U21
Individual
Kurz vor Schluss kam Toptalent Florian Wirtz und wurde zum ersten Debütanten unter Flick[Shortly before the end, top talent Florian Wirtz arrived and became the first debutant under Flick.]
 | ||
