Wirtz and the Mega-signings

When he joins Liverpool, Florian Wirtz will become the tenth nine-figure transfer in history, but big money does not necessarily mean big success...

At some point soon, Florian Wirtz will become the tenth player to be transferred for a fee of £100m or more, joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen for £100m with a possible £16m in add-ons. The 22 year old is an excellent player; of that there is no doubt. He scores goals, he sets up goals, he is right-footed but adept with his left, he can dribble, he can press, he’s versatile, he’s good at finding space; he’s probably the most complete young attacking midfielder in Europe.

It’s easy to see why Liverpool would want him. Wirtz is not just a star in his own right, somebody who should be able to slot in as the most advanced of the central midfielders (which would probably mean Dominik Szoboszlai dropping deeper), but his versatility makes Liverpool’s squad significantly stronger. But this piece isn’t really about him; it’s about the concept of mega-signings in general – and how rarely they work in footballing terms. (Whether Wirtz can be really classed as a mega-signing is another issue, and we’ll come to that).

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On It Was What It Was, the football history podcast, we look back at the history of the Club World Cup, from Renton and Sunderland to Kilmarnock and East Germany to hang-gliding in Rio.

Listen here.

On Libero, we delve into the murky world of the transfer industry. Listen here.

Issue 57 of The Blizzard is out now, featuring Ivica Osim and the death of Yugoslavia, football in Cornwall, how punk was shaped by terrace chants, the development of the Bhutanese league and the Liverpool striker who lost a leg and became a stunt diver. Buy here.

And, ever wanted the history of football tactics explained in one gorgeous poster? Or the Premier League as Fibonacci sequence? Then you’re in luck. Buy here.

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A list of the nine previous £100m+ signings makes intriguing reading (immediately there are issues here. Exactly what do you include in the fee, which will almost invariably include various bonuses and add-ons? And what currency do you use? In Euros, Coutinho was the third-most expensive signing in history because the pound was strong against the Euro at the time, but I’ve stuck with sterling here):

Neymar, Barcelona to PSG, £200m, 2017

Kylian Mbappé, Monaco to PSG, £163m, 2018

João Félix, Benfica to Atlético, £112.9m, 2019

Antoine Griezmann, Atlético to Barcelona, £107, 2019

Enzo Fernández, Benfica to Chelsea, £106.8m, 2023

Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool to Barcelona, £105m, 2018

Jack Grealish, Aston Villa to Manchester City, £100m, 2021

Declan Rice, West Ham to Arsenal, £100m, 2023

Moisés Caicedo, Brighton to Chelsea, £100m, 2023