Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich revealed that he told Florian Wirtz not to join Bayern Munich last summer before completing his blockbuster switch to Liverpool. 

Wirtz joined the Premier League champions for a reported £100m (€117.5m) transfer fee, plus a potential £16m (€18.8m) in add-ons, with the German international signing a five-year contract. 

The 22-year-old was of interest to Manchester City and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, but he opted to make the move to Anfield, where he is beginning to find his groove after a tricky start.

Wirtz has registered eight goal involvements (three goals, five assists) in 2025-26, with five of those coming in his last six appearances across all competitions. 

But many feared that Bayern would get their hands on Wirtz, with the club having been known to poach the best talent within the Bundesliga over the last decade. 

Raphael Guerreiro, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano and Leon Goretzka all joined Bayern from fellow Bundesliga sides, and Andrich did not want Wirtz to join that list. 

"Please don't go to Bayern. I honestly thought he'd go there," Andrich told the Spielmacher podcast on the conversation he had with Wirtz prior to his move to Liverpool.

"I told him at some point: Please don’t do it. Don’t do this to us.

"You can say that for German football, we need German talent to stay here – but in the end, there's only Bayern Munich at the very top when we talk about quality like Flo's.

"I wanted him to go abroad. I told the Bayern guys that, too. I was happy for him that he took the step. I wouldn't have thought he'd dare to go abroad so soon."

Wirtz was a pivotal figure for Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso, making 119 appearances during the Spaniard's successful tenure, scoring 38 goals and providing 43 assists. 

He helped the club to their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023-24, as well as the DFB-Pokal, in Leverkusen's unbeaten domestic season. 

Over his final two seasons in the German top flight, Wirtz completed the most dribbles among all players in the competition (161), having attempted 446. 

And while Wirtz's contributions in front of goal have seen his eye-watering price tag questioned, he has been one of the standout performers in a poor season for Liverpool. 

He has created 57 chances in all competitions this term. Among Premier League players, only Jeremy Doku (58), Enzo Fernandez (59), Phil Foden (60) and Bruno Fernandes (62) have managed to craft more.