14 hours ago
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Bayern Munich chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at Liverpool following the German club's failure to secure Florian Wirtz's signature ahead of the Premier League champions this summer.
The Bundesliga giants had been widely tipped to land the German international's services. Yet the Reds managed to outmanoeuvre both them and rivals Manchester City, with Arne Slot's compelling vision ultimately convincing the 22-year-old to depart his homeland for Merseyside.
Liverpool shattered its transfer record to capture Wirtz at the conclusion of June, securing the creative forward from Bayer Leverkusen in a package potentially reaching a then British record $156 million (£116M).
Bayern were left frustrated after losing out on the playmaker, and have launched several barbs at both player and club in the months since missing out on Wirtz's services.
Dreesen appears to have taken another veiled shot whilst insisting Bayern 'can afford any transfer' and suggesting such expenditure contradicts the club's 'DNA'.
He also pointedly referenced the Reds and their financial muscle when lamenting the superior revenue available to Premier League clubs through the English top flight's broadcasting arrangements.
"We can afford any transfer we want," he told Welt Am Sonntag, as quoted by BILD. "We have an excellent capital ratio.
"FC Bayern is doing very well. But we want to be able to pay a player – without having to run to the bank. That's not FC Bayern's DNA.
"The bottom team in the English league, at €125m, has €60m more in media revenue than us.
"Liverpool has €200m, while FC Barcelona and Real Madrid each have €160m."
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Wirtz has had a quiet start to his Liverpool career, failing to score or assist in the Premier League during the first two months of the season, attracting criticism both in England and Germany.
He was dropped by Slot for the Reds' trip to Chelsea on Saturday, although he was called upon at half-time at Stamford Bridge with his side on their way to a third consecutive defeat in all competitions. Wirtz will hope to rediscover some form with Germany over the forthcoming international break.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can read the original story in the Liverpool ECHO by clicking here.
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