Florian Richard Wirtz

Wirtz's breakthrough at Bayer Leverkusen was interrupted before it properly began: on 13 March 2022, against 1. FC Köln, the club where he had spent his youth years, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The injury ruled him out for the rest of the season and cost him a place at that year's World Cup. He returned on 22 January 2023 in a 3–2 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and went on to become one of the most influential players in the Bundesliga.

Wirtz helped Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup, and was named the league's Player of the Season in both 2023–24 and 2024–25. He was also voted UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season in consecutive campaigns, and earlier in his development had twice won the Fritz Walter Medal in gold, at Under-17 and Under-19 level.

His form for club and country made him one of the standout German players at Euro 2024, where he scored the opening goal against Scotland and struck the equaliser against Spain in the quarter-final. For the national team he has also delivered one striking piece of trivia: the fastest goal in Germany's history, scored after seven seconds against France in March 2024. He made his senior international debut in September 2021 and has gone on to represent Germany at the 2026 World Cup.

In June 2025, Wirtz completed a move to Liverpool for a fee reported at £100 million, potentially rising to £116 million with add-ons — one of the most expensive transfers in Premier League history.