Florian, it’s done. You are finally a Liverpool player – how are you feeling?
Yeah, I feel very happy and very proud. Finally it’s done and I was waiting for a long time – finally it’s done and I am really happy.
It’s clear that you had some options this summer, including the chance to stay at Leverkusen. So, why Liverpool? Why is Liverpool the right choice?
I just thought that it was the right point in my career to make the next step and of course I wanted to get to a club that is from the top three in the world, and in my opinion Liverpool was one of them. Yeah, I just saw myself in the best hands in Liverpool. I was really convinced by the people here, by the idea, and everything what the club offers me was really good. And in the end [it was] also easy to be excited for me to come to Liverpool.
Was the feeling you had after speaking to Liverpool that it was an easy decision to make?
Yeah, it was not that easy for me, for sure, because I am a German player, I play for the Germany national team. So, it was not easy for me to decide but I think the talks with the coach and Richard [Hughes] and everybody were, from the start or from the very first time, so good and it just kept going like this. Every time I spoke to one of the [people from] the club I felt like, ‘this is the place I want to be’ and so in the end I was really 100 per cent convinced I want to join Liverpool and it was the best choice.
What did your family say about joining Liverpool?
I think I was the first one in my family who was really into this club when they spoke to us or told us that they are interested in signing me. For sure, I didn’t expect that Liverpool will be my next club but my family was supporting me and I didn’t have to convince them about the club or something. Everything was so good and I wanted to join also a different league in the end. I think my family, they will love also to come here and spend time with me here and in the stadium. So, they will like it as well.
