A couple of days after we heard that the battle for one of the world’s best football players was over, news comes that this is not at all the case.
Attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz is tipped by conservative Transfermarkt to have a value of €140 million and will not be sold for less than €150 million. Bayer Leverkusen seemed to “have to accept a bid from the newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich of “only” 100 million euros, but then Manchester City decided to park that bid.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola invited Florian Wirtz’s family, who are all deeply involved in the 22-year-old’s career, to check out the conditions at the Etihad Stadium and the training facilities on campus.
When it was the family, there were apparently a few hours to spare, a short car ride away Liverpool was more than ready to show them around. It has not been revealed whether the Premier League champions intend to make a concrete bid, but there has been interest from Anfield for a long time. After Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga last season and before Liverpool hired Arne Slot, they tried a total package. Manager Xabi Alonso and the club’s biggest star Florian Wirtz.
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German international Wirtz is one of the hottest players in the world, having scored 34 goals and provided 35 assists in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen, who won the Bundesliga with an exceptional unbeaten season under Xabi Alonso in 2024.
Wirtz showed his class on the big stage with six goals and five Man of the Match awards in his debut season in the Champions League, and is expected to step up to bigger challenges this summer alongside his outgoing manager Alonso.
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Big clubs on the hunt
Newly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich want to make him their next high-profile purchase from a rival club, while Real Madrid are also linked with the 22-year-old.
But Manchester City are also big admirers of Wirtz, and on Tuesday, The Times reported that he and his parents – who act as his agents – flew to Manchester to see the club’s facilities.
Meetings with both City and Liverpool
According to the report, Wirtz flew from Germany by private jet and returned to Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands.
But Christian Falk from BILD claims that City was not the only English club Wirtz and his family met.
The Wirtz family have also reportedly held talks with Liverpool, who have now entered the race for Wirtz while also working on a transfer for his teammate Jeremie Frimpong.
Bayern believe they have the promise from Wirtz
Falk adds that Bayern are confident that Wirtz will keep his promise to sign for them, but The Times points out that the Bavarian big clubs still have to figure out how to finance the costly transfer.
However, they have been in touch with Wirtz’s father to discuss how he would fit into their system alongside compatriot Jamal Musiala.
Record sales expected
Wirtz is one of the leading candidates to replace Kevin De Bruyne, but the battle for his signature is getting intense.
It is believed that Bayer Leverkusen will ask for around £126 million for Wirtz – which would be a club record in sales.
