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Chelsea legend defends Florian Wirtz's decision to move to Liverpool

Florian Wirtz's move to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for a whopping £116m transfer fees was considered the biggest move of the summer until Alexander Isak decided to move to Merseyside breaking all records.

The 22-year-old, who is considered one of the best German talents and had multiple suitors including Bayern Munich and Manchester City, but he decided to move to Liverpool.

Many people felt that Wirtz would choose Bayern this summer considering their legacy of attracting top German players throughout their club's history.

But the former Leverkusen man felt a move abroad to the Premier League would be the best for his development.

Following his move to Premier League, there were plenty of talks about him snubbing Bayern Munich and something that could be a change in stance for many German players in future.

Recently former Germany international and Chelsea legend Michael Ballack defended Wirtz's move to Liverpool as he believes there's a gulf in quality between the Premier League and Bundesliga.

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"Does it make sense for him and his development to play in the Bundesliga for Bayern for another two or three years? Of course, he wins championships there, but is the Bundesliga still a challenge for him at the highest level?" Ballack stated in an interview with Sport BILD.

"No, because the Bundesliga was overtaken by the Premier League years ago. That’s the reality.

"That’s why it’s generally no longer as attractive for the absolute top players. That’s why changes are needed."

Florian Wirtz has had a slow start to life at Liverpool

Wirtz played a big role in helping Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga unbeaten back in 2023/24 season under the tutelage of Xabi Alonso.

He has all the qualities needed to succeed in Arne Slot's system at Liverpool but somehow, he has struggled with the intensity and physicality of the Premier League.

Therefore, he hasn't been at his best in the first three league games for the Reds despite their perfect start to the Premier League 2025/26 campaign.

He also had an off day for Germany as they lost 2-0 to Slovakia in the World Cup qualifiers but he returned with a decent performance against Northern Ireland in a 3-1 win where he scored a tremendous freekick goal.

He will hope that the goal gives him enough confidence to translate that into his club form as Liverpool travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley this Sunday.