SC Freiburg’s Philipp Treu says Liverpool star Florian Wirtz left him surprised during the last international break and has explained what makes him ‘so special’.
The attacking midfielder maintained his place in the Germany squad under Jürgen Klopp.
Treu’s displays for the Bundesliga side helped him receive his first call-up in September. He made his senior debut against the Netherlands and played the full 90 minutes against [2-0 win] Serbia and [0- draw] Greece.
While with Germany, the 25-year-old trained with the Liverpool player and a few other stars. This includes Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, who captained Die Mannschaft, and Wirtz.
Wants to play with Liverpool star
Philipp Treu has been speaking to Bild to discuss several topics like his start to the season with SC Freiburg, Jürgen Klopp’s call-up and his senior debut.
The fullback says he would like to play alongside Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz and Joshua Kimmich, probably at a club level. He mentioned this when Bild asked which player would he most like to play with.
He said: “Standing on the pitch with Kimmich for the first time with the national team was definitely special. Of course, superstars like Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo would also be exciting.”
“But I have to say, standing on the training pitch with Florian Wirtz for the first time and seeing what he’s capable of was impressive.”
Why Liverpool player is special
The Premier League side invested around €125m plus bonuses to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in June 2025.
He finished his debut season with seven goals and 10 assists and has three assists to his name this season. His performances for Liverpool have been the subject of criticism both in the UK and in Germany.
It has led to rumours linking him to Bayern Munich. Last week, their president, Herbert Hainer, said he feels sorry for the 23-year-old, however, he ruled out the possibility of signing him.
The German media, and more specifically, Bild/SportBild have regularly defended Wirtz. After Philipp Treu mentioned the Liverpool star, it was no surprise Bild immediately asked what makes him ‘so special’.
Responding to that, Treu explained: “When he gets going, it sometimes looks as though he’s playing against an U19 side. He comes up with solutions that make you wonder: how does he do that? During a ball-retention drill, I once thought he wouldn’t lose the ball at all and was making every decision correctly. His technique in tight spaces is exceptional.”
Wirtz stats, Bundesliga compared to Premier League
Florian Wirtz’s statistics in his first season for Liverpool weren’t terrible. The issue is that he simply wasn’t having the impact his price tag suggested he should.
This season there’s been criticism from supporters, however, he got a crucial assist against Brentford at the weekend.
Bundesliga vs Premier League
| Statistic | Bundesliga Bayer Leverkusen |
Premier League Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 140 | 40 |
| Minutes played | 10,270 | 2,933 |
| Goals | 35 | 5 |
| Assists | 45 | 5 |
| Goal contributions | 80 | 10 |
| Goal contributions per 90 | 0.70 | 0.31 |
| Minutes per goal contribution | 128.4 | 293.3 |
| Chances created | 274 | 81 |
| Chances created per game | 1.96 | 2.03 |
| Chances created per 90 | 2.40 | 2.49 |
| Completed passes per game | 34.65 | 36.35 |
| Completed passes per 90 | 42.51 | 44.62 |
European and domestic cup matches excluded.
Goal contribution = goal or assist. Per-game averages include substitute
appearances; per-90 figures account for playing time.
All figures follow StatMuse’s definitions and recorded minutes.
