Florian Wirtz, Shohei Ohtani and the 50-50s

Liverpool have been strongly linked with Florian Wirtz. The Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder excels in multiple metrics.

Thoughts are with everyone affected by the incident at the Liverpool parade on Monday. Love to all.

It’s hard to be the best at everything. We can’t all be Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool’s number 11 led the 2024/25 Premier League for goals and assists, with his combined total of 47 equalling the competition record. Salah finished 18 goal contributions ahead of the runner-up, Alexander Isak, which is the widest margin from first to second in the modern era.

Do you like baseball? If you don’t - you’re missing out - you’ve probably still heard of Shohei Ohtani. A pitcher and designated hitter for reigning World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers, he is arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport.

Ohtani hit the second most home runs (54) and stole the second most bases (59) in 2024, earning the third Most Valuable Player award of his MLB career. Even though he didn’t top the standings for either stat, he became the first player in history to record at least 50 of both. There is no 50-50 club, it’s just Ohtani.

Football doesn’t have an equivalent. Any mountainous total of goal contributions will always tip towards scoring rather than setting up. Baseball players are at a significant advantage in counting stats, as they step up to the plate four-to-five times almost every night in a 162 game regular season.

There are still numerous metrics in which footballers can record 50 actions in a campaign. If they’re not all as important as a homer or a stolen base, there are at least plenty which help teams win matches.

One player who has ticked off a lot of 50s in his career is Florian Wirtz, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder who is reportedly close to moving to Liverpool.

The 22-year-old isn’t a record-setter, a Salah or Ohtani-equivalent. He is a hugely versatile, gifted footballer whose variety of skills can help the Reds win a lot of matches. Few players of such tender age have joined as many vital 50 clubs in one season as Wirtz just has.