Florian Wirtz gets emotional as under-fire Liverpool star sent touching message

Florian Wirtz has come under-fire in recent weeks after an underwhelming start to his Liverpool career

Florian Wirtz has made an emotional admission after receiving a number of messages of support from his loved ones amid a challenging start to his Liverpool career. The German is yet to record a goal or assist in the Premier League and has come under fire in some sections for his performances as Arne Slot’s new-look side continues to gel.

While the reigning Premier League champions have not been at their best, they headed into the final round of fixtures before the October international break clear at the top of the table.

However, they have also faced intense scrutiny after suffering back-to-back defeats against Crystal Palace and Galatasaray.

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The Reds will be looking to bounce back away at Chelsea on Saturday evening. And ahead of the game, Sky Sports released a special feature video with Wirtz as the German sat down and watched a number of videos about his career so far from his loved ones, including both of his parents.

At the end of the feature, all those who contributed sent personal messages to Wirtz. And after watching them, the playmaker admitted he felt emotional.

“It’s special and will always be special when you hear so many great things about yourself from people who you admire and respect so much and share so many good moments with them,” he said. “It’s good to hear.

“You feel directly that your heart is working, it’s nice to hear. Yeah, (I felt emotional). Especially in the end for the personal messages.

“It was really nice and I was surprised who made it into the video. But all of them have to be there because these are all people who I shared a lot of great memories with.

“These are people who I will never forget so I’m really grateful.”

Wirtz’s mother, Karin, wished him in his efforts to understand English, while his father, Hans, admitted he wants his son to forge a good relationship with everyone at Liverpool.

“I know it’s sometimes difficult for him to understand the English language at the speed it’s spoken,” Karin said. “So my wish for him is that he soon understands everyone he speaks to well and always has the appropriate answer ready.”

Meanwhile, Hans said: “I can only wish and hope that he works well there, tries hard to learn a lot, and further strengthens the joy among the people there and has a good dialogue with team-mates, the people and the fans in Liverpool.”

Wirtz’s oldest childhood friend, Ole Verhall, also took part in the feature and he shared his pride in the German in a touching message.

“I’m really, really proud of you. I hope you know that,” he said. “I miss you and I’m really excited to see you again in maybe a few weeks. See you, bro.”

Elsewhere, Wirtz’s former coach of his school team and one of his FC Koln youth coaches both wished him the best at Liverpool.

“Florian, I wish you all the best in Liverpool,” said his former school coach, Roland Schweikardt. “I am very sure you will make a great job there. I watch every game. Do the best!”

Meanwhile, his former FC Koln coach, Markus Daun, said: “I want to give you big hugs to Liverpool. I wish you the maximum of success in your career in Liverpool.

“I will be there, hopefully in the next few weeks. The boss always remains the same, you know that. Take care and regards to everyone.”

Another one of his FC Koln youth coaches, Martin Heck, also took part in the feature as he sent an inspirational message to Wirtz.

“Please stay healthy, stay as you are,” Heck said. “You’re doing a great job and keep your smiling and your cheeky way on the pitch and no-one can stop you!”

And Simon Rolfes, Bayer Leverkusen’s managing director of sport, echoed such sentiments after selling Wirtz to Liverpool in an £116m deal this summer.

“Florian, stay as you are, with this joy to play football every day, with this hunger to win, this hunger to work hard as well and play how you express yourself on the pitch,” he said. “That’s a great joy for everybody.”

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