Florian Wirtz and Liverpool FC flag (Photo by Stuart Franklin, Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore has hit out at his old club for the amount of hype they’ve generated over the signing of Florian Wirtz.
The Germany international recently completed a club-record transfer to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen, and there’s no doubt the attacking midfielder looks like an exciting addition to Arne Slot’s squad.
Still, Collymore feels Liverpool perhaps went a bit over the top with the announcement of the deal and the amount of social media posts alongside it.
The pundit compared this more to how Manchester United and Real Madrid tend to behave with their superstar signings, which has never really been the way Liverpool do things.
Liverpool have put even more pressure on Florian Wirtz
Collymore added that this puts even more pressure on Wirtz as well, as the club seem to be hyping him up as being their new main man, rather than emphasising that they’re a team.
“I counted 37 tweets on Liverpool in relation to Florian Wirtz on the day that he signed. And upon seeing that, I asked myself whether they had ever done that for Mohamed Salah, Jurgen Klopp or Arne Slot? I don’t think they have,” Collymore said.
“Liverpool’s best weapon is that they get on with business. They aren’t flashy like Man United or Real Madrid, but they are effective at winning trophies. I thought they would be slightly reserved with the Wirtz announcement, but their social media and marketing department have essentially put him under even more pressure to perform.
“I can speak about this more than most considering I also held the British transfer record at one time. And this is why I think that it could also cause in-house tensions at Liverpool, with some teammates being envious of the attention that Wirtz has received from the club upon signing. And Wirtz himself probably didn’t want this to happen.
“I just really don’t want Liverpool to stick Wirtz’s head above the parapet for him only to have a disappointing season next season. Because he could do, it could happen. There’s no guarantees in life. Look, he might end up being the best player in the world this time next year. And it was like he’s lived up to the hype. But Liverpool’s always been about sort of the team is greater than the individual.”
