TA: The Cherry Juice Drunk by Wirtz Becomes the Premier League's New Supplement

When Florian Wirtz was substituted during Liverpool's 2-2 away draw with Newcastle United in the opening match of the season, the German midfielder sat on the bench and picked up a bottle of dark red liquid to drink.

Was it some kind of 'vampire potion' that could help the £116 million attacker maintain his level during a demanding summer afternoon in the Premier League? No. It was actually cherry juice — the latest must-have supplement in elite football.

Other endurance sports, especially professional cycling, have used it for years. At the end of Tour de France stages, riders can often be seen with dark red stains on their jerseys, and observers cannot always tell whether the marks came from heavy crashes or from splashes while desperately rehydrating.

Now, as top-level football continues searching for more advantages, it has entered the Premier League. Wirtz's midfield opponent that day, Dutch youngster Stoil, is also a committed user. The vast majority of elite clubs use this supplement.

Put simply, cherry juice targets exercise-induced muscle inflammation, or oxidative stress.

This is essentially a small amount of damage to an athlete's muscle fibres, with both benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, oxidative stress signals the body to rebuild and create more mitochondria in cells, improving endurance. On the other hand, it can cause muscle soreness and affect performance — especially in sports requiring rapid recovery, such as cyclists between Tour de France stages.

In 2010, researchers at Northumbria University found that the Montmorency variety of tart cherries has antioxidant properties because of its high polyphenol content, particularly a substance called anthocyanin. In simple terms, consuming these cherries can reduce oxidative stress.

The Northumbria University team tested recovery times among 20 marathon runners, with half drinking cherry juice and half receiving a placebo. The results showed a clear difference between the two groups. Later studies in other sports confirmed the finding, and it was published in several leading academic journals.

This discovery marked the birth of cherry juice as a sports performance supplement. The general rule of thumb is to consume it during periods of intense competition to aid muscle recovery, while avoiding it during training periods to encourage muscle development. The British Olympic team, the New Zealand rugby team, and almost every rider in professional cycling have become supporters.

Julie Harder, a nutritionist at cherry juice manufacturer Amacx, said: 'The question you always have to consider is: what is the athlete's goal? Is it long-term training adaptation, or recovering as quickly as possible? When using cherry products, it is not a daily supplement, but something used strategically.'

'So during pre-season and friendly matches, its importance is lower. Once you reach the peak of the season, some players have several matches a week and may also report for national team duty, while the Premier League intensity is extremely high. At that point, having it available both on match days and between games becomes very important.'

This has meant that manufacturers selling cherry products have continued to emerge over the past 15 years. Besides Amacx, they include British company Science in Sport (SiS), 226ERS, Healthspan Elite, Etixx and Enervit.

Gino Verhoeven is Amacx's chief executive officer, overseeing all aspects of the company, including sourcing Montmorency cherries that provide the highest levels of polyphenols. He closely follows cherry crops across Europe, tracking harvests and weather forecasts, while carefully not revealing the exact source of this year's berries — the industry has become a highly commercially sensitive business.

'Two years ago, we mainly saw football clubs occasionally asking questions or requesting some products,' he explained. 'Now we regularly see clubs from Spain, the Premier League, the Dutch league and even the Middle East contacting us to discuss specific products, partnerships, and meetings with their dedicated nutritionists.'

'I know clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have been very active in this area for many years.'

A major breakthrough came when Merijn Zeeman, sporting director of former Tour de France-winning team Visma-Lease a Bike, left and joined Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

'He called me and said everything they do is performance-first — training, data, trends, everything,' Verhoeven said. 'He said they had done some nutrition work and wanted to collaborate with us. That was the first club where we truly began a deep partnership — talking with players, seeing what worked and what did not, and going through their entire daily routines.'

'After that, we saw other bigger teams begin ordering cherry juice and asking related questions. In the Premier League, you find more and more teams becoming aware of it — I have even seen cherry juice from other companies in the Paris Saint-Germain dressing room.'

'I think another reason is that the new generation of players aged 25, 26 or younger are more like athletes rather than just footballers. Clubs are changing partly because players arrive already familiar with cherry juice.'

What Verhoeven is most excited about is a new product developed based on discussions with players.

'This year, we developed cherry gummies with some football clubs,' he said. 'For example, in cycling, athletes can become severely dehydrated because of prolonged exertion. But in football, if a player is substituted after 60 or 70 minutes, they do not need half a litre of recovery drink and half a litre of cherry juice. Previously they told us that if a match finished at 11pm, they had to keep going to the toilet all night. The gummies have exactly the same ingredients as cherry juice, just without the liquid.'

'Dark cherries naturally also contain melatonin,' Harder added. 'It can shorten the time needed to fall asleep and improve sleep quality. In football this is even more obvious because matches are often played at night. Gummies are also easier to carry while travelling, unlike large amounts of liquid, especially when you only have checked luggage.'

If you see players eating gummies on the sideline, it does not mean they believe eating candy during a match is appropriate.