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Florian Wirtz pictured in the Liverpool dressing room at the AXA Training Centre after his move from Bayer Leverkusen(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Florian Wirtz has been told he will "always remain a part of Bayer Leverkusen" in an emotional message from sporting director Simon Rolfes following Liverpool's £116m capture.

Wirtz completed his club-record transfer to the Reds on Friday

The Premier League champions will pay an initial £100m for the Germany international with a further £16m on success-based add-ons.

Wirtz has signed a five-year deal with Liverpool to become the most expensive player of all time on Merseyside.

And in an outgoing message to a player he helped bring in from Koln as a teenager in 2020, Rolfes praised the 22-year-old for what he contributed during his time at the BayArena, which included a first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023-24, when Xabi Alonso's team went the entire domestic campaign without defeat while also winning the German Cup before losing in the Europa League final.

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"Dear Florian, I don’t want to write this.

I would like to tell the world that you will stay at Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the rest of your career," Rolfes wrote on Linkedin.

"But you decided to leave our club and to open a new chapter in your life.

It tells a lot about you.

"I wish you all the best at Liverpool Football Club.

You all will stay part of the Bayer 04 family."

Wirtz's official squad number at Liverpool will be confirmed later this summer and he will report for pre-season duty at the AXA Training Centre on July 7 ahead of a pre-season friendly with Preston North End later that week at Deepdale.