Retro Florian Wirtz Shirt – Leverkusen's Invincible Genius

Florian Wirtz joined Bayer Leverkusen's academy from FC Cologne in 2020, and the speed of his ascent from youth football to the Bundesliga first team was nothing short of breathtaking. He made his professional debut in May 2020, aged just 17, and scored on that debut – becoming the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history at the time. It was a sign of things to come.

The early years at Leverkusen were full of promise, but the cruelest of setbacks arrived in March 2022 when Wirtz suffered a complete ACL tear during a Bundesliga match. For a player whose entire game is built on explosive movement, darting runs, and rapid changes of direction, an injury of that magnitude could have been psychologically devastating. Instead, Wirtz returned stronger, more composed, and even more difficult to contain.

The 2023–24 season will be remembered forever in German football history – and Florian Wirtz was at the absolute centre of it. Under the brilliant management of Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen achieved something no club in Bundesliga history had ever managed: they went the entire league season unbeaten, winning their first-ever Bundesliga title. Leverkusen also lifted the DFB-Pokal that same season, completing a domestic double that seemed unimaginable just years before. Wirtz was not merely a passenger in this triumph – he was one of its chief architects, contributing goals and assists with seemingly effortless regularity, dazzling opponents and teammates alike with his technical brilliance.

At international level, Wirtz has been a key figure for Germany since breaking through, including featuring prominently at UEFA Euro 2024 on home soil, where Germany's run captured the imagination of the football world. His performances confirmed what club football had already shown – that he belongs among the elite.

In the summer of 2025, Liverpool broke the bank to bring Wirtz to Anfield in a deal reported at around €116 million, making him one of the most expensive players in football history. The transfer signalled not just confidence in his ability, but belief that he is ready to dominate the very highest level of the game for years to come.

Florian Wirtz has been shaped as much by the company he keeps as by his own natural talent. At Bayer Leverkusen, his partnership with Granit Xhaka was central to the club's historic 2023–24 unbeaten title run – the Swiss midfielder providing composure and authority in front of Wirtz, giving him the freedom to roam and create. Victor Boniface offered a focal point up front that allowed Wirtz to drift into spaces and produce moments of magic, while Jonas Hofmann and Alejandro Grimaldo provided width and energy around him.

The managerial influence of Xabi Alonso cannot be overstated. The former World Cup winner identified Wirtz as the creative soul of his Leverkusen system and built structures around him that amplified his strengths while protecting him from his relative inexperience. It is no exaggeration to say that the relationship between Alonso and Wirtz produced some of the most exciting club football Europe has witnessed in recent memory.

On the international stage, Wirtz has lined up alongside veterans such as Thomas Müller and Ilkay Gündogan, absorbing experience and growing with every match. His rivalry with other elite young European midfielders – most notably Jude Bellingham – gives football a compelling narrative for the decade ahead. At Liverpool, working under a tactically demanding Premier League environment, new teammates and new challenges continue to refine an already formidable talent.

The shirts that Florian Wirtz wore during his time at Bayer Leverkusen are already objects of serious collector interest, and for very good reason. Leverkusen's home kit during the 2023–24 historic unbeaten season – a striking red with clean modern lines – is the one every serious collector wants. That specific shirt, bearing Wirtz's name and number 10, represents a unique moment in football history: the first-ever unbeaten Bundesliga title winner. Owning a retro Florian Wirtz shirt from that campaign is to own a piece of the impossible made real.

The Leverkusen home colours of red and black have provided a vivid backdrop to Wirtz's most memorable moments – his looping goals, his nutmegs in tight spaces, his assists threaded through seemingly closed defences. The away kits from his Leverkusen years, often rendered in white or grey, are slightly rarer and therefore increasingly sought after by collectors who prefer something a little more unusual.

For those focused on international football, German national team shirts from the Euro 2024 period with Wirtz on the back carry significant appeal, particularly given that the tournament was played on home soil in front of passionate German crowds. The traditional white of Germany with Wirtz's name is a clean, classic collector's item that will only grow in value as his career develops. Earlier Leverkusen shirts from his debut season in 2020 are the rarest and most historically significant of all – marking the moment a legend began.