Football: Florian Wirtz is Footballer of the Year

Shortly after his move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool FC, Florian Wirtz has been named Germany's most expensive professional player. The international, who moved to England for a total fee of up to 150 million euros, prevailed in the Kicker poll with 191 votes, well ahead of Michael Olise (81) of FC Bayern and Nick Woltemade (71) of VfB Stuttgart. There was a first in the vote for Female Footballer of the Year: With DFB captain Giulia Gwinn and national goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, two players finished at the top for the first time ever, receiving the same number of 145 votes.

Julian Schuster was named Coach of the Year. He succeeded Christian Streich at SC Freiburg and qualified for the Europa League in his first season. Schuster won with 97 votes, ahead of Horst Steffen (76), who missed promotion to the Bundesliga with SV Elversberg in the relegation play-offs and subsequently moved to Werder Bremen. Hansi Flick of Spanish treble-winner FC Barcelona took third place with 60 votes.

After a long preparation, Florian Wirtz's record transfer to Liverpool FC is complete. The 22-year-old is now the most expensive German footballer – and is at the center of a new tactical plan at his new club.

Wirtz was the top-rated player for Leverkusen in all competitions last season, scoring 16 goals and providing 15 assists. The 22-year-old has become an integral part of the national team. The German record champions from Munich pursued the technically skilled attacking talent for months . But ultimately, he opted for a move to the Premier League. "In football , honoring individual players is always, and above all, a collective recognition," said Wirtz. "I'm aware that I still have a lot of work ahead of me to live up to all the expectations that come with being named Footballer of the Year."

For Ann-Katrin Berger, this is the second time she has been honored as Female Footballer of the Year, following her strong performances at the 2024 Olympics, when she contributed decisively to the German women's bronze medal. Gwinn is celebrating the award for the first time after the European Championship, which was a personal disappointment. This is "a validation of the work we have done as a team," said Gwinn, referring to the tournament in Switzerland, which ended for the German national team only in the semifinals against Spain .

The new captain suffered a serious knee injury in the first half of the opening match against Poland and supported the team from the bench afterward. "I think it's great that Giulia won too. She excels not only on the pitch, but also off it. Others would have withdrawn from the European Championship after such a serious injury," Berger said of her teammate. "But she helped us a lot, supported us a lot, and put her feelings aside. That shows true greatness." Gwinn won the league and the cup with FC Bayern and, following Alexandra Popp's retirement from the DFB (German Football Association), is now arguably the most popular German female footballer.