Florian Wirtz’s glowing reference of the Bundesliga and the city of Munich helped convince Luis Diaz to move to Bayern, the Colombian winger has revealed.
The two attackers were Liverpool team-mates for a matter of months, with Wirtz joining the Premier League champions for a British record fee in June ahead of Diaz’s departure earlier this week.
Diaz, whose £65.5million transfer was completed on Wednesday, opened up on his conversation with the former Bayer Leverkusen star, who turned down the chance to sign with the German giants in favour of a switch to the Premier League.
‘I was already familiar with the German league and know roughly what kind of football is played here,’ he told reporters after penning his four-year deal.
‘But yes, I had the opportunity to speak with Florian. The league is different from the English one, but it’s also intense and physical. Football is also well played here, there are great teams, and the stadiums are always full.
‘Florian also told me that the city is great and that I would really enjoy it here. He also wished me the best of luck. I’m very grateful to him.’
Florian Wirtz’s glowing reference of the Bundesliga and the city of Munich helped convince Luis Diaz to move to Bayern
The German playmaker swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League earlier this summer
The Colombian, who underwent his medical in Bavaria on Tuesday after the Reds accepted Bayern’s latest big-money offer, spoke of his pride at joining ‘one of the biggest clubs in the world’ upon completion of the deal.
‘It means a lot to me to be part of FC Bayern – one of the biggest clubs in the world,’ he told the club’s website. ‘I want to help my new team with my style of playing football and my personality.’
He said goodbye to his team-mates a day earlier, three and a half years after he made the move to the Premier League from Porto. Diaz made 148 appearances during his time at Anfield, scoring 41 goals.
He is thought to have first told Liverpool bosses of his desire to leave last summer, but the club held firm.
They later made two separate attempts to agree a contract extension with the left winger, but failed to convince Diaz due to a gap between offers and demands.
Bayern sporting director Max Eberl hailed the quality of the winger and defended the club’s massive outlay for the 28-year-old, who is unlikely to have much resale value should his time at Bayern fail to live up to expectations.
‘The player’s age is always a discussion, of course, but age is also just one of 10 or 15 factors you consider in a transfer,’ said Eberl. ‘You can see what people pay for 20-, 21-, or 22-year-olds on the market right now – that’s significantly more than we paid for Lucho.
‘In weighing up all the processes, Lucho’s quality clearly won us over. Today is what counts. We want to win titles together. And if we win titles, then purchase prices aren’t quite as relevant. If he doesn’t work out, then it’s on the table.’