What's it going to be for Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz? The 21-year-old enjoyed a remarkable season, marking 18 goals and 20 assists en route to a Bundesliga trophy.
The attacking midfielder, signed to Leverkusen until June 2027, is one of the hottest potential transfers this summer. Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro slapped a significant €150m transfer fee on the young talent last April, anticipating the high demand.
“No one is unsellable,” Carro told Marca.
“But for less than €150m (£128m), Wirtz is not leaving.”
While that may have warded off potential suitors at the start of last Spring, the big European clubs are expected to circle. Lucky for Blaugrana fans, Barcelona remains one of Wirtz's preferred destinations.
“My dream when I was a child was always to play for Barça. That hasn't changed. The good thing is that I still have a lot of time,” said Wirtz back in 2021.
But money talks above youth allegiances. While Barcelona's Deco would like to splash the cash on the ‘dream' signing today, financial constraints continue to hinder Barcelona. They'll have to hope the financial situation improves next season.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are ready to put the requisite money on the table now. According to German outlet Bild, Los Blancos will pay €150M for the talent in 2025. Wirtz's boss, Xabi Alonso, could join him at the Santiago Bernabeu next summer.
Let's not forget that Bayern Munich could also enter the transfer saga for an opportunistic swoop of Alonso and Wirtz. However, Real Madrid is simply the team best positioned to sign the German attacking midfielder right now — no matter how close the relationship is between Barcelona and Simon Rolfes, sports director of Leverkusen.
Overall, it appears that Wirtz gets one more season to cook under Alonso at Leverkusen. Lucky for us, we can catch Wirtz in action for Germany in this summer's Euro.
Would Wirtz be a better signing for Barca or Real Madrid? Let us know.
Photo: x/ManagingBarca
