Liverpool to Hand Florian Wirtz ‘Staggering Salary’

There would still be two players better paid than Florian Wirtz at Liverpool based on his proposed salary.

Florian Wirtz scored for Germany against Portugal in June. / IMAGO/Moritz Müller

Liverpool have reportedly agreed to hand Florian Wirtz a mammoth salary as they close in on a record-breaking deal for the Bayer Leverkusen star.

The Reds are sparing no expense when it comes to the costly acquisition of Wirtz. Having fended off rival interest from Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich, Liverpool have reportedly struck an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen over a final fee for their cherished attacking midfielder.

The Premier League champions finally got a deal over the line for a sum which could reach €136.3 million (£116.1 million, $157.8 million). Beyond the record transfer fee—which would be the most expensive in British football history if all bonuses are met—Liverpool are also going all out on Wirtz’s salary.

BILD were the first to claim that Liverpool had agreed to hand the 22-year-old midfielder a contract worth up to €22 million (£18.6 million; $25.1 million) per year. That is roughly the equivalent of £355,000 per week, which is thought to be comparable to the terms Salah agreed when he put pen to paper on a new two-year extension in April.

However, Sky Sports News insist that Wirtz will be limited to a range of between €12–15 million (£10.2–12.8 million, $13.9–17.3 million) each year, roughly the equivalent of £245,000 per week at best.

Florian Wirtz is on his way to Liverpool. / IMAGO/Sports Press Photo

This would make Wirtz the third-highest paid player in Liverpool’s squad, although he is still someway short of the sums diverted to Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.

The prolific Egyptian reportedly earned a base salary in the region of £350,000 per week before agreeing an extension which did not come with a pay cut. The Telegraph claim that once all bonuses are included, Salah’s total pay packet would be almost double that of Wirtz, and be worth around £25 million ($33.8 million) per year.

Van Dijk also signed a contract extension in April and, according to The Athletic, remains the best-paid defender on the planet with a weekly wage of around £400,000 ($530,000).

Beyond Salah and Van Dijk, no other Liverpool player is thought to earn anywhere near the same sums as Wirtz’s proposed salary. Trent Alexander-Arnold perhaps would have been entitled to a similar haul had he accepted any of the club’s lucrative offers to extend his stay on Merseyside, but as he outlined in his open letter to fans, the decision to join Real Madrid was not financially motivated.

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