Liverpool stars Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong set record straight – ‘This is wrong!’

Liverpool signings Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong were team-mates at Bayer Leverkusen and had an angry discussion on the bench last season – but they’ve clarified that all was not as it seemed

Liverpool stars Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong have set the record straight on what was perceived to be a fiery argument between the pair earlier this year. The duo both left Bayer Leverkusen for Anfield this summer, arriving for a combined fee of around £150million.

They have brought their close friendship to Merseyside, which formed during their five seasons as team-mates in Germany. But one moment in March of this year appeared to show a heated confrontation between the pair.

Leverkusen found themselves 3-0 down with a sending off against rivals Bayern Munich in the dying stages of their Champions League last-16 first-leg clash. Star players Wirtz and Frimpong were both substituted off and were sitting on the bench when TV cameras caught them both gesticulating angrily while in conversation.

Neither player held back in their frustration as they appeared to complain about their side’s performance, while many viewers and even some publications believed the pair were having a very public spat.

But, now Liverpool players, the team-mates have clarified that they were not arguing but in fact agreeing over something that had gone wrong on the pitch. They were shown the clip in a new video for Liverpool’s official YouTube channel, titled ‘Bezzies’, during the Reds’ current tour of Asia.

Wirtz immediately pointed out: “This is wrong! People got it wrong,” after seeing the footage pop up. Frimpong said: “We were actually on the same side. I saw this on social media.”

The German playmaker then interjected: “They got it wrong. We were down against Bayern in the Champions League and then the head starts [getting frustrated].”

Wirtz, 22, and Frimpong, 24, also spoke about how they first became close friends at Leverkusen. Frimpong began by saying: “The first time I met Flo was in the Bayer Leverkusen changing room. Obviously I knew who he was before from watching him.

“When he sat next to me we just started speaking. He was the first one that made me feel comfortable. Then obviously I started going to his house, we started to chill and we became friends.”

Wirtz added: “For me it’s easy [to be friends] because Jeremie is a guy everybody loves. He’s funny and always in a good mood so of course I’m one of the guys who likes him.”

The duo both became integral players for the Bundesliga side following Xabi Alonso’s appointment as Leverkusen’s head coach in October 2022. They starred as Alonso led the club to their first Bundesliga title in 2023/24, which they managed without a single defeat.

Leverkusen also clinched the DFB-Pokal and were on course to secure an unprecedented unbeaten treble until they suffered a shock 3-0 defeat in the Europa League final against Atalanta. They experienced a more difficult season last term, finishing 13 points behind Bayern in the league while going trophyless.

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