Stunned reaction at Liverpool agreement with Florian Wirtz, as lower offer accepted

A top German source has revealed the stunned reaction to Liverpool agreeing a deal with Florian Wirtz that is LOWER than he was offered elsewhere, while reports also claim Bayer Leverkusen are ready to compromise on the transfer fee.

The biggest transfer of the summer window might also be among the first to be completed. The window is less than a week old and Liverpool already have an agreement on personal terms with Florian Wirtz in place

Manchester City exited the race to sign the German superstar after baulking at the costs involved. City also believed chasing Wirtz may have been a lost cause, with a move to Bayern Munich heavily tipped at the time they pulled the plug.

As such, it came as a shock to many – not least Bayern Munich – when Wirtz signalled his intention to sign for Liverpool.

Bayern have since shifted their focus to alternative targets, such as Cody Gakpo and Rafael Leao. Thankfully for those of a Reds persuasion, Liverpool have already pulled the shutters down on the idea of selling either Gakpo or Luis Diaz this summer.

However, according to the latest from BILD’s Christian Falk, the Wirtz rejection is still leaving a sour taste in the mouths of Bayern’s hierarchy.

Bayern are not used to losing out in transfer battles for German stars, and especially when putting superior numbers on the table.

Falk revealed Bayern had actually offered to pay Wirtz more than the sums he’s accepted to join Liverpool.

Wirtz could have pocketed a pre-tax salary of around £390,000-a-week if moving to Munich. Instead, he’ll earn a pre-tax salary of roughly £340,000-a-week if completing a switch to Anfield.

“It was a hard punch for the Bayern bosses to miss out on Florian Wirtz,” said Falk

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.”

Leverkusen to compromise on transfer fee

Leverkusen value their talisman at €150m / £126m. Liverpool have thus far seen two bids rejected, with the second totalling €130m / £109m.

But according to Ben Jacobs, Leverkusen ‘won’t unduly stand in [Wirtz’s] way’ of a transfer to Liverpool and are expected to settle on a slightly reduced fee of €142.5m / £120m.

Liverpool still have a gap to bridge to meet that demand, though all sources continue to insist a deal will be done sooner rather than later.