Florian Wirtz becomes youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances
Florian Wirtz has beaten Gio Reyna's record and become the youngest player to play 50 Bundesliga games with his appearance in Bayer Leverkusen's top-flight encounter with Hoffenheim on Wednesday.
Born on 3 May 2000, Wirtz brought up the milestone aged just 18 years, seven months and 12 days when he turned out for Die Werkself on Matchday 16, beating the previous mark set by USMNT and Borussia Dortmund man Reyna earlier this season by two months and two days.
Reyna had beaten the record set by former Leverkusen forward Kai Havertz at 18 years, 10 months and four days in April 2018.
Wirtz has already had a record-setting season, becoming the first U19 player to reach double figures for Bundesliga goals when he found the net in Leverkusen's 3-1 win at RB Leipzig on Matchday 13.
Wirtz made his top-flight debut in May 2020 aged 17 years and 15 days to become the youngest Leverkusen debutant — pipping Havertz again — and the third-youngest league-wide, but has since been pushed down the pecking order by Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko
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He was the youngest-ever Bundesliga goalscorer at the time he netted his first top-flight strike in a 4-2 loss to Bayern Munich in June 2020, but has since been surpassed by Moukoko.
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