Dietmar Hamann believes that 23-year-old German international Florian Wirtz may never become a successful player for Liverpool.
In an interview with Sky Sport Deutschland, Dietmar Hamann has given his two cents about Florian Wirtz’s struggles as a Liverpool player. The former German international has opined that the struggling 23-year-old playmaker lacks belief and lacks the joy to express himself.
Hamann said, “I don’t know if he still believes he can make it. When I see him for Liverpool, I often get the impression that he’s not happy. That’s a player who has joy; you see that with every action and say he’s just doing it. He plays like a child used to on the field, he just enjoys playing football.”
“And I haven’t seen that in him for months, and I don’t know if he still has this belief to say, I will prevail. Because of course, with every game, with every week, the criticism gets bigger, and the belief or this thinking that he says, no, I’ll get my way, might be a little less. I don’t know if he still has that. For me, he doesn’t make that impression at the moment.”
Florian Wirtz and his struggles
Florian Wirtz has been a pale shadow of his best since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in a big-money deal last year. The 23-year-old arrived at Anfield with the reputation of being one of the best players in the Bundesliga. However, he has not shown those levels for Liverpool, and his overall record of seven goals and 11 assists in 55 appearances is sub-par.
The German international has struggled to make his mark in the early days of the 2026/27 season, having managed only one assist in six outings thus far. The numbers are a clear indication of Wirtz’s struggles, and Hamann has suggested that the move to the Premier League may have come at the wrong time for him.
“I think it’s good that he went or wanted to go to England. Because of course it is the league where the best players go and is probably the toughest league. He had played and that he wants to assert himself there, that appealed to me at first. In retrospect, would he do it again, maybe not.”
Despite his struggles, Wirtz continues to command interest from the market, with recent reports linking him with Arsenal, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich, among others. While interest from high-profile clubs is encouraging, the German international will want to prove Hamann wrong by becoming a successful player for Liverpool, taking inspiration from Alexander Isak to turn things around at Anfield. The season is long, and there is time for him to become an asset under Andoni Iraola.