Nine-figure Liverpool star accused of wilting under World Cup pressure

Liverpool last summer spent a sum that could reach £116m on Florian Wirtz.

The German playmaker, 23, came on board with a reputation as one of the best attackers in the world.

Bayer Leverkusen won the German league and cup double with Wirtz pulling the strings in 2024 and Liverpool beat off competition from Real Madrid and Manchester City for his signature.

But this has not proven to be a transfer masterclass by Richard Hughes as yet.

£116m Wirtz has struggled

Wirtz struggled in his first season at Anfield - a campaign which culminated in Arne Slot losing his job. The Premier League champions slumped to fifth place after winning the title the season before.

And Wirtz - far from being the centrepiece - mostly looked an awkward fit. That form carried on to the FIFA World Cup for Germany this summer. Wirtz was expected to lead the Nationalmannschaft alongside Jamal Musiala.

But Germany fell flat - eliminated at the first knockout stage by Paraguay.

Wirtz blamed as Germany fall flat

The Liverpool man delivered three assists across his four outings but that doesn’t tell the whole story. He was shunted out to the left as Julian Nagelsmann sought the right blend but he was unable to make an impact on proceedings.

Now a special report into Germany’s World Cup failures as documented by Ran has claimed that Wirtz as well as Musiala wilted under the pressure of carrying Germany’s hopes.

That is not what Andoni Iraola will want to hear heading into the new season with Liverpool still retaining high hopes for the former record signing.

Wirtz suffering due to poor Liverpool form

“They too could not withstand the pressure and delivered rather lackluster performances in attack while wearing the DFB jersey,” the report reads.

The report also claims that last season was detrimental to Wirtz and indeed to Germany owing to the poor form exhibited by the £116m man for his club.

“Florian Wirtz lacked a bit of conviction after a mixed debut season at Liverpool,” the report reads.

“Furthermore, he was deployed on the wing instead of in the center, where he had previously captivated the entire German football world, especially during his time at Leverkusen.”

It’s clear the German talent has already reached a crossroads in his career - suffering a dip for his club and his country following a big move.

It’ll be Iraola’s job to put Wirtz back on a pedestal as quickly as possible and get on with the job of showing the world he remains one of the best creative talents in the game.