Bayern Munich Step Back from Florian Wirtz Move
Bayern Munich have stepped away from talk of a dramatic move for Florian Wirtz – for now – but the story around the Liverpool playmaker refuses to die down.
The German champions were heavily involved in the battle for Wirtz before his £116m switch from Bayer Leverkusen to Anfield in the summer of 2025, losing out to Liverpool and Manchester City in the race for one of Europe’s most coveted attacking talents. His arrival on Merseyside came with huge expectation. The price tag guaranteed that.
Since then, reality has bitten.
Wirtz has struggled to fully impose himself in the Premier League, his adaptation hampered by the intensity and physical edge of English football. That dip, set against the hype that surrounded his move, has inevitably sparked whispers of a quick escape route back to Germany – and straight into the arms of Bayern.
Those rumours have now been firmly challenged.
Bayern cool talk of ‘shock’ Wirtz raid
German journalist Christian Falk has poured cold water on claims that Bayern are actively plotting a move for the 21-year-old.
“It is NOT TRUE: Bayern Munich are tracking Florian Wirtz and could make a shock move for the Liverpool player. My information is that this is not true,” Falk told CF Bayern Insider.
The links are easy enough to trace. Bayern and Wirtz share a history that predates his Liverpool switch. Falk detailed how there were two secret meetings before the German international chose Anfield: one in Munich, another in Liverpool. In the end, it was Arne Slot who convinced Wirtz to take the Premier League leap and join the Reds.
With that background, and with questions being asked about his form in England, the speculation practically writes itself.
Falk, though, pushed back on the idea that Wirtz is failing, stressing that he sees progress rather than decline. The attacker has been used in a new role at Liverpool, and, in Falk’s view, is performing better than last season. At the same time, Bayern are juggling their own creative issues, with Jamal Musiala still short of his best after illness and last year’s injury problems.
That combination – a high-profile German talent under scrutiny abroad and Bayern’s own star not fully firing – has created fertile ground for rumour. But Falk insists there is “nothing planned” between Bayern and Wirtz at this stage.
Swap whispers: Wirtz and Olise in the mix
The story doesn’t end there. A potential swap involving Wirtz and Michael Olise has also been floated, and while Falk distances himself from the idea of anything concrete, he stops short of dismissing it entirely.
He explains how the narrative has grown: Wirtz’s Bundesliga roots, Bayern’s long-standing admiration, Musiala’s form, and Vincent Kompany’s tactical reshuffle with Olise at the heart of it. Reports have simply taken “one plus one” and turned it into a transfer equation.
If Wirtz were to seek a return to Germany at some point, Falk is clear: Bayern would be the first club he speaks to. But that remains hypothetical.
Right now, Bayern have a deep squad and a head coach experimenting with a new system that places Olise centrally, mirroring the role he plays for France. Musiala is tied to a long contract. The club, Falk stresses, feel strong in that area of the pitch. And he points to another crucial factor: Liverpool’s enormous outlay on Wirtz. Any move would not come cheap.
On the Olise side of the equation, there is another layer. Bayern want the former Crystal Palace winger to sign a new deal. If he refuses and pushes for a transfer – perhaps to Real Madrid – that could change the landscape. A big fee for Olise would hand Bayern the financial muscle to test Liverpool’s resolve over Wirtz.
“The German can play on the side or centrally. This would be a very interesting thing, and if you make a swap deal with Liverpool or sell Olise for a lot of money to Real Madrid, you have the money to make an offer for Wirtz,” Falk said, outlining the chain of events that would need to fall into place.
For now, those pieces are scattered. No agreement, no active talks, no imminent bid. Just a cluster of conditions that, if aligned, could drag Wirtz back into Bayern’s orbit and throw Liverpool into another major decision over a marquee signing still trying to prove he belongs at the very top of the Premier League.
