Florian Wirtz caught up in Bayern Munich war of words as club still reel after Liverpool transfer

Florian Wirtz caught up in Bayern Munich war of words as club still reel after Liverpool transfer

Lothar Matthaus and Uli Hoeness have engaged in a war of words over Florian Wirtz's transfer fee and striker Nick Woltemade

Florian Wirtz undergoes his Liverpool medical (Image: LFC TV )

Bayern Munich have not responded well to missing out on Florian Wirtz to Liverpool. The German giants may be used to getting their own way in the transfer target, having landed the best of Bundesliga talent for years, such is their domination of the league.

And yet Wirtz was convinced by the project presented by Arne Slot and Richard Hughes, instead choosing to join Liverpool in what could become a British record £116m.

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Bayern have since moved on to 23-year-old Germany Under-21 forward Nick Woltemade and are believed to have a verbal agreement with the Stuttgart man.

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But with a potential pricetag of between £68-88m, Bayern sporting director Max Eberl has admitted that Bayern must negotiate with Stuttgart to find a more acceptable fee.

That led to Bayern legend Lothar Matthaus to claim that Bayern's £50m valuable of Woltemade was "too low", an assertion that led to Bayern president claiming the former Germany midfielder had "lost his mind".

He said: "Lothar Matthäus has clearly lost his mind. I’ve been fed up with these so-called experts for some time. With remarks like these, Matthäus is putting pressure, especially on Stuttgart. Ultimately, the club will look like the loser if the transfer fee comes in lower."

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Matthaus issued a furious response to the Hoeness, saying Hoeness "lives in his own world" and claiming that the fee Liverpool paid for Wirtz proves his point about Bayern's stance towards Woltemade.

He told Bild: "First of all, I have to say that I’m used to Uli Hoeness' insults and I don’t take them seriously anymore. He’s been doing that for 20, 25 years. I don’t let it get to me; that makes you thick-skinned. Uli Hoeness still lives in his own world and still hasn’t understood that not only football, but also the business has evolved. I’m aware of what’s going on in the market. I mentioned €80-100m as a possible price [for Woltemade], but Uli Hoeneß apparently didn’t read it up properly again.

“He’s only interested in attacking other people to distract from his own mistakes. I know the market, both domestically and internationally. And I still believe this assessment is correct. Gittens cost around €60 million and isn’t even an international player, and he’s also had a worse season [than Woltemade]. I predicted for Florian Wirtz many months ago that the total package would amount to €250m – and that’s what happened. These simply are the numbers nowadays.

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“At FC Bayern, things are only seen from one side. When I think of Jamal Musiala: Bayern would want much more for him than, for example, Wirtz cost. Bayern would want €180m. So why can’t Wirtz cost €150m or Woltemade €80-100m?

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Uli Hoeness lives in his own world. He may no longer be up to date with the transfer market. Bayern Munich wants a player who now has that market. “As a reminder: FC Bayern already spent €80m on Lucas Hernández in 2019.

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"Hoeness should investigate internally: Why didn’t FC Bayern and their scouts discover Woltemade earlier, why did they only become aware of him now?

"With Woltemade, the VfB management did a much better job. Instead, FC Bayern brought in Joao Palhinha for €50m, who has so far only been a backup player, barely playing even in unimportant games. These are the problems Hoeneß should be addressing.”

Indeed, Matthaus is clearly a big fan of Wirtz and was surprised that the 22-year-old chose to leave the Bundesliga this summer, but he has backed the forward to have a big impact in the Premier League.

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"Personally, I also thought Florian would want to stay in Germany for the next few years. He's taking on a big challenge. It's not just a new club: it's a new mentality, a new language," Matthaus told BILD.

"But this step also shows that he's not afraid. Florian Wirtz believes in himself 100 per cent – and rightly so: I have absolute confidence in him that he'll make it at Liverpool and in the Premier League.

"He doesn't have to hide from anyone. A year before the World Cup, the move is also a risk, a leap into the unknown – but his friends and family will certainly support him very well."

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