Liverpool’s transfer window continues to go from strength to strength this summer.

After romping to the Premier League title last season, the Reds have carried on the feel-good factor with some major moves in the market.

And while there is excitement over the signings of both Jeremie Frimpong and, eventually, Milos Kerkez, Florian Wirtz takes the cake as the most impressive of the lot.

Liverpool beat the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to sign Wirtz, who became the most expensive signing in the club’s history on Friday.

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As well as Bayern and City, Liverpool’s eternal rivals Real Madrid were heavily rumoured to be pushing to sign Wirtz.

But despite the presence of the German’s former manager at Bayer Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso, in Madrid, Wirtz chose Liverpool.

With the ink still drying on his new contract, it has now been revealed exactly why Real felt they simply could not compete.

Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

After joining Liverpool, Wirtz immediately praised the impact Arne Slot made on him during their pre-signing conversations.

But Slot was not the only deciding factor.

According to The Athletic, Wirtz made up his mind about joining Liverpool more than six weeks ago.

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The truly deciding point is said to be the speed at which the Reds moved to head off their major rivals for the 22-year-old’s signature.

They claim that having impressed Wirtz with their training facilities after Bayer Leverkusen visited in November, Liverpool then sought permission from Leverkusen to speak to the player.

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Wirtz is said to have been impressed by Richard Hughes’ initial pitch, and with the German having told his club he was keen to play abroad, the Reds moved quickly to get themselves into pole position.

By early May, Bayern Munich reportedly knew that Wirtz’s preference was to join Liverpool.

Real Madrid are also said to have ‘decided against stepping up their interest’ having been made aware that he only wanted Liverpool.

While there are numerous explanations for why Wirtz ultimately opted to choose Liverpool ahead of a host of European footballing royalty, it is perhaps best to listen to the man himself.

“I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world, and in my opinion Liverpool was one of them,” he told LFCTV on Friday.

“I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool.

And in the end [it was] also easy to be excited for me to come to Liverpool.”

Having lost out to the likes of Madrid in particular many times in the transfer window over recent years, it feels all the better for Liverpool to win one.

As the excitement settles down and anticipation for his on-pitch contribution starts to grow, we’ll no doubt see why there was such competition for his signature.


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