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Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl has claimed his club could not afford to match Liverpool’s offer for Florian Wirtz.

As reported by the ECHO on Friday morning, the Reds have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to make the German international the most expensive player of all time at Anfield.

Liverpool will pay £116m for Wirtz in a deal that smashes the club’s current transfer record.



The Reds had two bids rejected, the last one of £113m which would have seen £100m paid up front with performance-related add-ons, but have finally got the deal over the line.

Wirtz has scored 57 goals in 197 games for Leverkusen and impressed as he helped the BayArena outfit to the Bundesliga title in 2024.

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Such impressive form meant the 22-year-old was hot property heading into the early transfer mini-window, with Bayern and Manchester City also in the race for the attacker’s signature.

Bayern, it is believed, led the chase for Wirtz at one point, only for the Bundesliga star to inform the Bavarian giants that he wanted to move to Anfield.

And reacting to the latest development, Eberl claimed a lack of funds would have made signing Wirtz close to impossible.

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He said: "If I'm honest, I don't know if we could have paid what Liverpool are apparently paying now.

"Florian Wirtz is an outstanding player.

But when a door closes, another opens."

The Bundesliga champions have reportedly earmarked Cody Gakpo as a possible new recruit this summer.

And speaking to Sky Germany ahead of the start of the Club World Cup in the US, Eberl admitted that his club have a clear plan heading into the summer transfer window.

"The focus is on the squad we have here,” he said.

That's already a big step.

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“We have a clear plan on how we want to implement things.
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