Abhijnan Sengupta

Fans Gobsmacked to Find Florian Wirtz on Avanti Service Train

Florian Wirtz, Liverpool

Florian Wirtz’s move to Liverpool was one of the big stories of the last summer transfer window. The German starlet rose to popularity for his stint at Bayern Leverkusen where he had become the main man under Xabi Alonso. Expectations from him were quite high as the Merseyside club paid a then-club record fee of £116m to secure his services.

Wirtz’s early weeks at Anfield, however, were quite underwhelming. In his first twelve Premier League appearances, he failed to score or assist a goal, drawing criticism from both the fans and the pundits alike.

In fact, after what could only be termed as a disastrous outing in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, former Manchester United-star Gary Neville singled out Wirtz, calling him “a problem”. His former teammate Wayne Rooney also claimed that the youngster is only damaging how Arne Slot’s team try to play their game.

Since the turn of the year though, Florian has finally found his footing at his new club. In 2026, the 22-year-old has already netted 6 goals and bagged 2 assists across competitions. His contributions even saw him earning the club’s Player of the Month award for January.

As the fans are finding the excitement back surrounding their star signing, Wirtz caught their attention again, being spotted riding a train. In a time when footballers exhibit extraordinarily luxurious lifestyles, this came as a bit of a shocker to those on board. 

Eyewitnesses say Wirtz was spotted on an Avanti service from Stockport, a common stop on the West Coast rail corridor linking cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool Lime Street with London and surrounding areas. Avanti runs intercity trains along this line, offering Standard and First Class seats.

However, it’s not everyday that one boards an Avanti train only to find out that their co-passenger is someone as popular as Liverpool’s no.7. Naturally, fans were pleasantly surprised to find the Liverpool star sharing the same compartment as them, donning a black hoodie and a pair of grey denims. It was later revealed that Florian was travelling with two of his friends. Another fan also claimed to have spotted him in a Boots retail store in Wilmslow.

Despite some fans being sceptical about the claims given the unlikeliness of someone of Flo’s stature taking a public train, the general response was that of a pleasant surprise. Fans were too glad to find their favourite youngster sharing the same coach as them.

Wirtz isn’t just another young star trying to make his name in the top flight. He’s one of the more talked-about talents in all of Europe. Seeing him on public transport stripped away some of that “superstar aura”. It made him slightly more relatable to the commoners, turning this moment into a memorable one, funny even. It somewhat humanised his appeal to the fans.

Florian Wirtz, despite being one of the biggest names in the footballing world, still belongs to the world outside the pitch. Fans on X had a field day reminding everyone of that.

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