“Don’t do this to us”: Andrich reveals plea that steered Wirtz away from Bayern and toward Liverpool | OneFootball

Robert Andrich has revealed how he urged former Bayer Leverkusen teammate Florian Wirtz not to join Bayern Munich last summer.

Bayern Munich had made Wirtz their top target for the summer transfer window, but lost out to Liverpool in the race to sign the in-demand midfielder.

Wirtz joinedLiverpool for a fee that could rise to £116m, following an outstanding period at Leverkusen. That fee broke the British transfer record, before Alexander Isak's £125m move to Liverpool later in the window.

The 22-year-old was part of the Leverkusen team that won a maidenBundesliga title without losing a game in 2023-24, and was named the league's Player of the Season in each of his final two campaigns in Germany.

Wirtz has struggled to replicate those levels atLiverpool, though has shown encouraging signs in recent weeks. He has scored twice in his last four Premier League appearances and came off the bench to score and assist against Barnsley in the FA Cup third round on Monday night.

Andrich has now revealed the conversation he had with Wirtz before his exit. Speaking to theSpielmacher podcast, the 31-year-old said he pleaded with Wirtz to move abroad and not join Leverkusen's biggest domestic rivals.

Asked what he said to his former teammate ahead of his transfer decision, Andrich said: “Please don't go to Bayern - I honestly thought he'd go there. I told him at some point: Please don’t do it. Don’t do this to us.

"You can say that for German football, we need German talents to stay here - but in the end there's onlyBayern Munich at the very top when we talk about quality like Flo's.

"I wanted him to go abroad. I told the Bayern guys that, too. I was happy for him that he took the step. I wouldn't have thought he'd dare to go abroad so soon."