Wirtz responds with sarcasm to Liverpool legend!

What did he say?

Florian Wirtz is refusing to buckle. The Germany star has shrugged off the criticism that has dogged him since his move to Liverpool, insisting he ignores it entirely, just as his form has begun to tick upwards following a tough start on Merseyside.

According to German newspaper Bild, the 23-year-old joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025 for 125 million euros. The record deal piled expectation onto his shoulders. His start fell well short of it, and that opened the door to sharp criticism, most notably from club legend Jamie Carragher.

Speaking to Sky, Wirtz dismissed the noise around him. "I don't care at all about what anyone says about me, because I pay it no attention whatsoever," he said.

Love of the game drives him, he explained, along with a hunger to succeed. "I play football because I enjoy it. I want to succeed, and that is natural," he said.

Asked why the media talk about him so much, he grinned. "Maybe I'm just an interesting person," he replied, a sarcastic nod to the scrutiny that has followed his every touch since he landed in the Premier League.

Carragher calls for him to be dropped

Carragher aimed a withering verdict at Wirtz after Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City this month, arguing the player had done nowhere near enough to swing games his team's way.

Having made 737 appearances for the club, the Liverpool legend said he couldn't recall a single match in which Wirtz had been a direct reason for a win. He called on the manager to rest him and leave him out of the starting line-up, convinced the player had been handed enough chances to prove himself.

Wirtz close to regaining his level

The signs are starting to turn, though. Wirtz played his part in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Brighton, a flicker of the form everyone has been waiting for.

His effort found the net but went down as an own goal by Pascal Gross, so he is still chasing his first Premier League goal of the season.

"It's fine, I'll deal with it," the German said of the chance, a line that captured his determination to ride out the pressure and keep grafting.

Across his first season with Liverpool, Wirtz racked up 7 goals and 10 assists in 49 matches. This season he has one goal in the Champions League and 3 assists in 10 matches.

That first European goal of the campaign arrived in the 4-3 win over Villarreal. It handed him a lift as he works to rediscover his best and justify the record fee.