Andrich told Wirtz not to join Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich has revealed that he told Florian Wirtz not to join Bayern Munich last summer before completing his blockbuster switch to Liverpool.
Wirtz joined the reigning Premier League champion for a reported £100 million ($199.6 million) transfer fee, with the German international signing a five-year contract.
The 22-year-old was of interest to Manchester City and Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich, but he opted to make the move to Anfield, where he is beginning to find his groove after a difficult start.
Wirtz has registered eight goal involvements – three goals, five assists – in 2025-2026, with five of those coming in his past six appearances across all competitions.
But many feared that Bayern would get its hands on Wirtz, with the club having been known to poach the best talent within the Bundesliga over the past decade.
Raphael Guerreiro, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano and Leon Goretzka all joined Bayern from fellow Bundesliga sides, and Andrich did not want Wirtz to join that list.
"Please don't go to Bayern. I honestly thought he'd go there," Andrich told the Spielmacher podcast on the conversation he had with Wirtz prior to his move to Liverpool.
"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 talent to stay here – but in the end, there's only Bayern 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."
Wirtz was a pivotal figure for Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso, making 119 appearances during the Spaniard's successful tenure, scoring 38 goals and providing 43 assists.
He helped the club to its first Bundesliga title in 2023-2024, as well as the DFB-Pokal, in Leverkusen's unbeaten domestic season.
