Wesley Sneijder has spoken out on Florian Wirtz’s start to his Liverpool career and recent criticism of head coach Arne Slot
11:36, 06 Nov 2025Updated 14:46, 06 Nov 2025
Florian Wirtz has endured a mixed start to life at Liverpool after his move from Bayer Leverkusen(Image: 2025 DeFodi Images)
Florian Wirtz has been warned ‘he’s done’ at Liverpool if he does not start adapting quicker to English football. The German has endured a mixed start to his Reds career since joining the club in a deal worth up to £116m from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
The 22-year-old has returned three assists from 15 appearances for Arne Slot’s side to date, but is yet to return a goal contribution in the Premier League. The playmaker has been benched for recent clashes with Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa in the English top-flight, but has impressed in the Champions League.
Returning two assists against Eintracht Frankfurt after being restored to the starting XI following Liverpool’s loss to Manchester United, he also caught the eye when recalled for the midweek victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
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Former Real Madrid and Inter Milan star Wesley Sneijder has now weighed in on Wirtz’s mixed fortunes at Anfield, insisting he will not last long in England if he does not start making more of an impact in the Premier League.
“I always say this about players with the German or Dutch mentality. It is the same,” the Dutchman said. “You can play good in your own country but they can have problems adapting in different countries.
“The Dutch and the German players are like that and I see the same happening now with Florian Wirtz.
“He felt comfortable in Germany. He was in the right spot. Now he made a big step and that’s difficult because at big clubs you don’t have the time to adapt. You already need to be there.
“If you come to the club as a big star then you have to show them immediately why they signed you and if you don’t show them they don’t care for you.
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“Wirtz is a big star in Germany but you have to be a big star on the pitch at Liverpool immediately and I felt like he had quite a problem in the beginning with this adaptation.
“Slowly, he is getting there but it needs to be faster and it needs to come quickly now, otherwise he’s done.”
Sneijder also rubbished recent criticism of Slot, insisting it has to stop despite Liverpool’s struggles last month. The Reds have won their last two matches against Aston Villa and Real Madrid, but had previously lost six of their last seven games as the pressure started to mount on the Liverpool head coach.
But having seen Slot lead the Reds to the Premier League title last season, Sneijder leapt to the defence of his compatriot.
“It’s funny. A couple of months ago he was the king of Liverpool,” he told AdventureGamers.com. “He was the coach to make you forget about all the previous coaches, even Jurgen Klopp.
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“After four weeks they are saying he wants to turn Liverpool into Feyenoord, he’s not winning games in the last minute anymore. He’s out of luck.
“Come on. Stop this. He’s still a great coach. What he did there is something amazing in the first season.
“He has needed to adapt as well and he adapted very quickly and brought his own style to the club and to the team.”