Day: August 11, 2025

Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz has been voted Germany’s Player of the Year, adding to the 22-year-old’s growing reputation as one of the game’s top talents.

Wirtz, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in June for a club-record £100m fee that could rise to £116m with add-ons, received 191 votes from German sports journalists. Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise finished second with 81 votes.

The Germany international joined as part of Liverpool’s summer spending spree, which also brought in Hugo Ekitike  and Milos Kerkez, as the club look to retain the Premier League title.

Former Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso, now in charge of Real Madrid, has called Wirtz “world class.” The midfielder has said his ambition is to “win everything every year” and to help Liverpool defend the league title while pushing further in the Champions League.

Wirtz was central to Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic campaign in 2023/24, winning the Bundesliga and German Cup before losing to Atalanta in the Europa League final. He was also named Bundesliga Player of the Year.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has called out UEFA for omitting details about the death of former Palestine international Suleiman al-Obeid in its tribute post.

Obeid, nicknamed the “Palestinian Pele,” died on Wednesday after being shot by Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip while people were waiting for humanitarian aid, according to the Palestinian Football Association (PFA). He was 41.

UEFA posted on X: “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pele’. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”

In response, Salah wrote: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”

Obeid, born in Gaza City, was married with five children and made 24 appearances for the Palestinian national team.