Thorsten Wirth
Elite ROOF Architect
Germany €1bn+
Key Facts
Nationality/residence: German / Grünwald (Munich), Germany
Date of birth: c. 1978 (age 45 in 2023 interview – exact date not public)
FIFA Agent Licence: FIFA Football Agent – FA registration FARA1114 (UK; active as of 2024)
Other registrations: DFB-registered intermediary in Germany since at least 2017
Primary agency / company: ROOF – Representatives Of Outstanding Footballers (co-founder & Managing Director)
Job Title: Football Intermediary / Player Agent / Managing Director
Client capacity: Leads one of Europe’s biggest elite rosters – agency currently represents around 150+ players and 20 coaches, with the market value of €1bn+
Languages: German (native), English (working language)
Base Locations: Grünwald/Munich (HQ) – London – Madrid
Specialisms: Elite Bundesliga & Premier League deals – Champions League-level players – German internationals – top forwards, attacking midfielders and goalkeepers – long-term career management
Email: info@roof.football
Phone / WhatsApp: +49 (0)89 820 400 30 (ROOF office)
Website / Socials:
• Website: https://roof.football
• LinkedIn (Thorsten): https://www.linkedin.com/in/thorsten-wirth-6797234/
• LinkedIn (ROOF): https://www.linkedin.com/company/roof-football/
• Instagram (ROOF): https://www.instagram.com/roof.football/
• X (agency): https://x.com/ROOFfootball
• Facebook (agency): https://www.facebook.com/roof.football
About Thorsten Wirth
Thorsten Wirth is the co-founder and Managing Director of ROOF – Representatives Of Outstanding Footballers – an agency that has grown from a German boutique to a top-five global football agency by portfolio value and client impact. Before entering player representation, he worked at Siemens Inhouse Consulting and then at adidas, where he looked after elite athletes and learned the sponsorship and brand side of high-performance sport. In 2013 he left the corporate world to co-found the advisory boutique Spielerrat with Daniel Delonga and Hannes Winzer, focusing on quality over volume and deep, long-term relationships with players.
In 2021 Spielerrat merged with fellow German powerhouse Arena11 to form ROOF, consolidating some of the Bundesliga’s strongest advisory networks under one banner in Grünwald, just south of Munich. Wirth has since overseen ROOF’s expansion into London and Madrid and its integration into the U.S. entertainment ecosystem via United Talent Agency and KLUTCH Sports, giving his clients direct access to Premier League, La Liga and North-American commercial opportunities.
On the client side, Wirth is closely associated with some of the biggest German and international names in the game. ROOF’s roster includes Kai Havertz, Marc-André ter Stegen, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Konrad Laimer, Niclas Füllkrug, Virgil van Dijk and Harvey Elliott, along with a growing group of Premier League and Bundesliga talents and managers. He has publicly described Havertz’s 2020 move from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea as the toughest transfer of his career, negotiated in the middle of Covid-era uncertainty and without a release clause to fall back on.
Wirth is known for his calm negotiation style, emphasising respect at the table, long-term relationships and outcomes that everyone can live with rather than one-sided wins. He also positions ROOF as a life-cycle agency, with strong emphasis on mental health, post-career planning and what he calls life-coaching rather than simple deal-making, supported by partnerships with education providers and family-office–style wealth advisers.
Beyond contracts, Wirth has pushed ROOF to take a public stance on sustainability. Under his leadership, the firm has measured and offset hundreds of tonnes of CO₂ emissions from its flight activity, partnering with Common Goal and the WWF on environmental projects in Germany, Spain and the UK – a rare move among player agencies and part of his aim to protect the future of the game.
Highlights
• Negotiation style – Calm, data-driven and relationship-oriented; focuses on deals that are durable for club, player and agent rather than just headline fees.
• Network – Deep access in Bundesliga, Premier League and La Liga boardrooms, strengthened by UTA/KLUTCH partnership and ROOF offices in Munich, London and Madrid.
• Client tier – Represents Champions League and World Cup-level players and German internationals such as Havertz, ter Stegen, Gnabry, Goretzka and Füllkrug, plus Virgil van Dijk and Harvey Elliott.
• Compliance focus – Long-time DFB intermediary, now FIFA-licensed, with strong public advocacy for more transparency on salaries and agents’ fees.
• Holistic support – Emphasises mental health, education and post-career planning; ROOF runs workshops with university partners and family-office advisers for players and their families.
Career Snapshot
Origin story:
Ex-Siemens consultant and adidas sports marketing executive who switched from corporate strategy to player representation, co-founding Spielerrat in 2013 and later co-creating ROOF via the merger with Arena11.
Milestones:
• 2013 – Co-founds Spielerrat with Daniel Delonga and Hannes Winzer after leaving adidas.
• 2020 – Leads Kai Havertz’s transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea in a deal worth around €80m plus add-ons, one of the biggest outgoing transfers in Bundesliga history and, by his own account, ROOF’s hardest negotiation.
• 2021 – Oversees the merger of Spielerrat and Arena11 into ROOF, creating Germany’s largest player agency with headquarters in Grünwald near Munich.
• 2023 – Plays a central role in Kai Havertz’s subsequent £65m move from Chelsea to Arsenal, further cementing ROOF’s status as a go-to agency for Premier League mega-deals.
• 2023–24 – Manages high-stakes transfers and contracts for Niclas Füllkrug – including his moves from Werder Bremen to Borussia Dortmund and then to West Ham United – and advises on exits after the West Ham spell is publicly acknowledged as a misfire.
• 2024 – Guides ROOF through acquisition by United Talent Agency, integrating the agency into a global sports-and-entertainment platform that also includes KLUTCH Sports and clients such as LeBron James.
• 2024–25 – Acts as a public voice for the agency model in long-form interviews and podcasts, explaining how modern agencies handle mental health, media pressure and sustainability.
Network strengths:
• Clubs – Strong working relationships with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool, Arsenal, West Ham, Barcelona and multiple Premier League mid-table clubs.
• Academies – Ties to top German youth systems (Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern, Werder Bremen) and to Arsenal’s academy through client Per Mertesacker.
• Regions – Core focus on Germany, England and Spain, with activity in Italy and France and growing reach into the U.S. market through UTA.
Support Team / Partners
• ROOF Managing Directors – Works alongside co-founders and managing directors such as Björn Bezemer, Daniel Delonga, and Steffen Asal to coordinate agency-wide strategy and key negotiations.
• Contract & finance – Supported by ROOF’s in-house Director Contract & Finance for detailed salary, bonus and image-rights modelling.
• Legal counsel – External law firms advise on complex transfers, ownership structures and UTA transaction work.
• Performance & medical – Collaborates with club performance departments and independent specialists for injury management and long-term load planning, especially for clients with heavy tournament schedules.
• Education & second-career partners – Works with institutes such as IST and university partners to support players’ education and post-career training.
• Cause-driven partners – Common Goal and WWF for sustainability and climate-related projects linked to ROOF’s travel footprint.
Client Roster
Players – Total market value: Approx. €850m+ across ROOF’s roster (late 2024)
Top players and talents (current)
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC) – Centre-back – Netherlands – 08/07/1991
• Kai Havertz (Arsenal FC) – Attacking midfielder / forward – Germany – 11/06/1999
• Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona) – Goalkeeper – Germany – 30/04/1992
• Serge Gnabry (FC Bayern München) – Winger – Germany – 14/07/1995
• Leon Goretzka (FC Bayern München) – Central midfielder – Germany – 06/02/1995
• Konrad Laimer (FC Bayern München) – Central / defensive midfielder – Austria – 27/05/1997
• Niclas Füllkrug (West Ham United) – Centre-forward – Germany – 09/02/1993
• Harvey Elliott (Aston Villa, on loan from Liverpool) – Attacking midfielder / winger – England – 04/04/2003
• Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United) – Attacking midfielder / winger – Ghana – 02/08/2000
• Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace) – Left-back – England – 01/09/1999
• Angel Gomes (Olympique Marseille) – Attacking / central midfielder – England/Portugal – 31/08/2000
• Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen) – Attacking midfielder / forward – USA/Germany – 28/05/2002
Coaches/Staff represented
• Per Mertesacker (Arsenal FC) – Head of Academy – former Germany international and long-term ROOF client from his playing days, still advised on strategic and post-career matters.
• Fabian Hürzeler (Brighton & Hove Albion) – Head coach – advised by ROOF, with Wirth involved in his contract work.
Notable former clients
• No major high-profile exits from Wirth’s client list have been publicly confirmed – ROOF tends to work with players over long periods, often from early career through to retirement or transition into coaching.
Notable Deals Led by Thorsten Wirth
• 2020 – Kai Havertz: Bayer Leverkusen → Chelsea, approx. €80m plus add-ons, long-term contract. Widely regarded as ROOF’s toughest deal, negotiated during the Covid-19 pandemic without a release clause and with only a handful of clubs able to afford the package.
• 2023 – Kai Havertz: Chelsea → Arsenal, approx. £65m (€70–75m) transfer on a long-term deal to 2028. ROOF and Wirth leveraged strong relationships with Arsenal to secure a key attacking role for Havertz in North London.
• 2023 – Niclas Füllkrug: Werder Bremen → Borussia Dortmund, around €17m fee and multi-year contract after a prolific Bundesliga season and breakthrough with the German national team.
• 2024 – Niclas Füllkrug: Borussia Dortmund → West Ham United, €27m transfer with contract to 2028. Later described by Wirth himself as a move that did not work as planned, illustrating his willingness to publicly own and correct misfires.
• 2023 – Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool contract renewal, reportedly lifting him into the highest wage bracket for defenders worldwide.
• 2022–24 – High-value renewals and restructuring for Bayern stars such as Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka, balancing wage structures at a super-club while preserving long-term security for the players.
• 2023 – Sadio Mané: Bayern München → Al-Nassr, major transfer to Saudi Pro League in which ROOF handled the exit from Bayern and negotiated the player’s Middle East package, later used as a case study in the agency’s climate-impact reporting.
Track Record (last 3 seasons)
• Total transfers completed: 60+ player moves and renewals across the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, including top-five league transfers, loans and contract extensions.
• Deals ≥ €10m: At least 10 major transactions, including Havertz (Chelsea and Arsenal moves), Füllkrug’s Dortmund and West Ham transfers, Mané’s move to Al-Nassr and several high-value renewals at Bayern, Barcelona and Liverpool.
• Clients in top-5 leagues: Around 120+ players and 20 coaches under ROOF across Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
• National team clients: Multiple German internationals (Havertz, ter Stegen, Gnabry, Goretzka, Füllkrug), plus other capped players such as Virgil van Dijk and Mohammed Kudus.
• Renewal/extension deals: Regular multi-year renewals for Champions League-level players at Bayern, Barcelona, Liverpool and others, often with complex image-rights and bonus structures.
• Aggregate client market value: Approx. €850m+ across ROOF’s roster as of late 2024, with values trending upward as more Premier League and UTA-linked talent joins.
Compliance & Accreditation
• FIFA Football Agent licensed, operating via FA registration FARA1114 and recognised on national FA and FIFA-aligned registers.
• Long-standing DFB intermediary, listed on multiple annual DFB intermediary registers since at least 2017.
• Operates within ROOF’s internal compliance framework, which emphasises transparency and U.S.-style openness on contracts and fees; Wirth has publicly argued for more disclosure to improve industry reputation.
• Covered by ROOF’s corporate insurance and risk-management structures as part of the UTA group, adding another layer of governance around financial and reputational risk.
Testimonials
• “Calmness. Respect at the table, never fear… the best deals are those where everyone can live with the outcome.” – Thorsten Wirth on his negotiation philosophy.
• “As a top agency, you have to offer the complete package… life-coaching, mental wellbeing, media, finances – not just transfers.” – Wirth on ROOF’s broader role for players.
• “Eine hochprofessionelle, äußerst seriöse und international erfolgreiche Berater-Agentur.” – Professor’s assessment of ROOF and Wirth’s work.
• “Wir wollen die Zukunft des Spiels schützen.” – Wirth on ROOF’s climate-offset initiative with Common Goal and WWF.
Press, Awards & Recognition
• 2025 – In-depth FootballAgencies.com profile on “Inside ROOF: Thorsten Wirth on building a top-five global agency – and the real stories behind Wirtz, Liverpool, Havertz, van Dijk and ter Stegen”.
• 2024 – Global business coverage around UTA’s acquisition of ROOF and integration with KLUTCH Sports, including major financial and sports-business outlets.
• 2024 – Long-form SportsManiac podcast episode on how the business of a player agent really works, with Wirth explaining ROOF’s business model, fee structures and life-cycle approach.
• 2023–24 – Multiple feature interviews in German media on mega-transfers, Bayern’s stars and ROOF’s sustainability initiative, positioning Wirth as a leading German voice on the future of player representation.
• 2024 – ROOF ranked among football’s most powerful agencies, representing over a hundred players with an aggregate market value in the high hundreds of millions of euros.
