‘Sorry for…’ – Wirtz makes tongue-in-cheek apology to Liverpool fans within hours of signing | OneFootball

On Friday evening, Liverpool fans were finally presented with the news they’d been patiently waiting to hear – Florian Wirtz is now a Reds player!

The 22-year-old has become the club’s all-time record signing in what could yet be the largest fee ever paid out by an English side, if all the add-ons from his £116m deal are activated (Sky Sports).

It’s a transaction which seemed to have been on the cusp of completion for some time before it was eventually confirmed yesterday, and the Germany international was aware of the mood of anticipation from his new team’s fan base.

Wirtz makes tongue-in-cheek apology to Liverpool fans

Wirtz had a message for Liverpool supporters when speaking to the club’s official website in his first interview as an LFC player.

He said: “I would say thank you for the support. Of course I saw it also on Instagram or everywhere else, that they are wanting me to come, so I would say thank you for the support. I’m really looking forward to playing in front of them and achieving together big things. I’m really happy to come, and sorry for the long wait!”

Image via Liverpool FC on YouTube

Wirtz transfer should be worth every bit of the wait!

No need to apologise, Florian – we know that these things can take time and we’re just glad to see it coming through!

There was no anti-climax in the mould of Yevgen Konoplyanka, Nabil Fekir or Martin Zubimendi with this one. Once Wirtz knew that Liverpool were interested, they were his only option and it was then a matter of the two clubs reaching an agreement.

That process unsurprisingly took time but Richard Hughes was persistent and kept his dealings with Leverkusen consistently cordial, a balance which helped to ultimately get the deal done almost two months before the next Premier League season starts.

Even though confirmation of the transfer seemed to be a drawn-out process, the Reds have pulled off an incredible piece of business quite early in the summer. The 22-year-old will even have time to settle in on Merseyside before the start of pre-season training and his acclimatisation to Arne Slot’s style of play.

It makes quite the contrast from last year, when we had to wait until the final week of August for a new signing, and it’s to Liverpool’s immense credit that they’ve landed such a statement signing a full 10 days before the end of June!