Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes Florian Wirtz would have been ‘better off’ joining Bayern Munich instead of Liverpool.
Bayern appeared to be in the driving seat to sign the 22-year-old in the summer transfer window before Liverpool agreed a £116 million deal with Bayer Leverkusen.
Wirtz established himself as one of the best players in the Bundesliga at Leverkusen with 21 goals and 25 assists in his last two seasons.
But the Germany international has struggled to make the same impact in his initial phase at Liverpool with no goals or assists in six appearances so far.
‘I have to honestly say, I still feel sorry for Florian Wirtz because I think the player would be better off at Bayern Munich than at Liverpool,’ Former Bayern CEO Rummenigge, who is now on the club’s supervisory board, told SportBild.
Get personalised updates on Liverpool every day
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘We could have signed Woltemade. But I also have to say, Bayern Munich are wise enough not to engage in every kind of financial madness.
‘I’ve always said we want to achieve sporting success, but please, in a serious and financially sound way. We have a top team, this year as well. And when the three players who are currently injured come back soon, then we’ll have a great team.’
Meanwhile, Wirtz is adamant that he will not panic after his low-key start to life at Liverpool.
‘Yes, of course I would have liked to have scored a goal or collected a few points. But no matter what anyone says, I’m staying cool,’ Writz told Sky Germany.
‘I know what I’m capable of, and I also know that I’ll really bring it to the pitch at some point, so I’m just staying cool. That’s a good advice.
‘I don’t want to hear it all the time, “Give it time, give it time.” Instead, I simply try to do better each time than before. And sometimes there are phases where things might not go well for you; I haven’t had that very often in my career.
‘Once I get through it – that’s perhaps harsh, because I’m not playing badly, I just haven’t gotten the points yet – it will come eventually, and then everything will be fine.
‘It’s no secret that I’d like to have more so far, but I’m patient, and as I just said, I know full well that I can play football well. Sooner or later, I’m sure that will return to normal.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
