As Liverpool closes in on agreement with Florian Wirtz, report states Bayern Munich players did not recruit the German star

According to a report from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, talks are progressing nicely between Liverpool FC and Bayer Leverkusen for star attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz, who had the German national team’s long goal during a 2-1 loss to Portugal earlier this week, was rumored to be headed to Bayern Munich before Liverpool jumped into the fray:

Liverpool are advancing to complete Wirtz deal in next days, here we go soon

Negotiations at final stages with details being sorted then Wirtz will travel for medical, plan confirmed. pic.twitter.com/9RkJCDjHjZ — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 6, 2025

Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg also reported that things are very close as well:

BREAKING | Understand FC Liverpool and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have significantly moved closer in a deal for Florian #Wirtz after fresh talks and a revised offer! The total package is now heading towards €150 million, including potential bonus payments. There’s still no full agreement between the two clubs, but it’s getting very close. #LFC It’s now just a matter of time.

The Times has the latest proposal worth €134 million in total (base fee + add ons):

Liverpool have submitted a revised offer to Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz of £113million as talks continue between the clubs. The package guarantees Leverkusen £100million with £13million extra coming in add-ons. It is short of the £126million (€150million) the Bundesliga side have been seeking. Negotiations are continuing but as it stands Liverpool are unwilling to meet the German club’s full asking price.

The further we get away from Wirtz spurning Bayern Munich, the more we learn about why he might have been open to Liverpool. Per Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk, Bayern Munich players did not get involved in the recruitment and, instead, allowed Wirtz to have some time and space to figure things out:

Bayern Munich’s players gave Florian Wirtz the space he needed to make his own decision. Even Jamal Musiala, despite the pair being in constant contact with each other outside of football (they’re often keeping in touch about things beyond the sport). There was not one “agent” of Bayern Munich who tried to convince him to sign for the club. There’s still a rivalry between Bayern and Leverkusen, so there are not so many players who are close. One idea was that Jonathan Tah, who was set to sign for Bayern Munich from Leverkusen, could help with this deal. But Tah also needed time, so this wasn’t a clear avenue Bayern could pursue to boost their hopes of signing Wirtz.

Even with that approach, the determining factor was a lack of plan from both Vincent Kompany and Max Eberl:

It was a hard punch for the Bayern bosses to miss out on Florian Wirtz. You can understand the likes of Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham deciding to leave the Bundesliga for top clubs, like Manchester City and Real Madrid, outside of Germany – as they’re not German. Going to Bayern Munich won’t matter as much to them. But it’s the first time that a German player decided against Bayern. They were interested, and I think this is really, really hard for Bayern Munich. It’s disappointing to hear that it wasn’t even a question of money; it’s said that Wirtz will earn €20m-22m per annum at Liverpool. Bayern offered more – they would have paid about €24m – so, this is doubly hard for FC Bayern to accept. It doesn’t just come down to Vincent Kompany’s vision for the player, it’s also about Max Eberl’s involvement (or lack of). The preparation for the deal was built from the ground up by the old bosses, like Uli Hoeneß, who arranged the meetings with the player. Florian Wirtz flew into Munich for a secret meeting. Then, it was up to the manager and director of sports to make a good impression on the player. By this point, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot must have presented a much clearer vision. I think this was the main point that ensured talks did not go as well as hoped. The plan just wasn’t really clear. I think they had an idea about how they could use Florian Wirtz in different game states, but there was not one clear plan like Arne Slot had in terms of using the 22-year-old in central areas. All play will revolve around the German international at Liverpool; he will be the number 10. The vision at Liverpool is clear and coherent. For Munich, it was the opposite.

Soon, the chapter will officially close and the book will be slammed shut on the situation. If Romano is correct, that could happen sooner, rather than later.

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