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Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German football and was central to Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double last season, winning the Bundesliga’s player of the year award. Alongside Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, he has become the great hope of Julian Nagelsmann’s national team, too, and will be fundamental to Germany’s challenge at the 2026 World Cup.
His contract runs until 2027, so there is no obligation to sell but considering his close relationship with in-demand head coach Xabi Alonso, there will come a point when Wirtz, who joined Leverkusen from Koln in 2020, may also look elsewhere.
He belongs at the top of the game but his path depends on which club is willing to meet Leverkusen’s €150million (£125m; $159m) asking price. They will not get that, but the figure represents how highly Wirtz is valued.
Fernando Carro, the club’s CEO, believes he might stay beyond this season.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
What else do I need to know about him?
There’s an enigmatic quiet to him. He is understandably laconic, given the attention he receives in the German media, but is also extremely popular within the Leverkusen dressing room and fashion-conscious off the pitch, too, looking like someone on the way back from a Stone Roses gig.
Wirtz has been a star for a long time. In his early teens, there were stories of a tiny boy at Koln who might be the country’s finest talent in years. The hype was justified. What happened next, however, created acrimony that lasts to this day.
When he was progressing through Koln’s youth teams, a gentlemen’s agreement existed between several clubs in the area — Koln, Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach and Fortuna Dusseldorf among them — stipulating that, for the betterment of the region, they would not poach each other’s youth players.
After he turned 17, Wirtz’s youth contract at Koln expired. The player’s parents wanted him to finish his schooling and stay close to home, so he joined Leverkusen for €300,000. His new club felt he was fair game — a senior, rather than a youth player. Koln believed differently, claiming their local rivals had violated the agreement.
Max Eberl, Gladbach’s sporting director at the time (and now Bayern’s board member for sport), was critical of Leverkusen’s conduct but Carro, who remains Leverkusen’s CEO, defended his club.
Old news, perhaps, but among Bayern’s transfer targets is — inevitably — Wirtz, which would involve a prickly negotiation.
Will he go there? Most likely not. Musiala’s contract extension is Bayern’s priority. Given the strength of his relationship with Alonso and how good his form has been under him, the smart money might be on them taking their next steps together.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Tell me about how he plays…
On the pitch, his control, dribbling ability and creative prowess make him one of the world’s most exciting players. He can weave his way past defenders but also find team-mates with one-twos, precise passes and through balls while his off-the-ball movement and positioning regularly put him in areas to score and create.
Across his short senior career, he has featured across the front line and as a No 10. This versatility allowed Nagelsmann to successfully play him and Musiala together at Euro 2024.
Under Alonso, Wirtz’s defensive work has improved too, and he has been willing to put the hard yards in to lead Leverkusen’s press. Wirtz has lifted the floor for playing behind the striker but arguably has not reached his ceiling — that, more than anything, is a frightening prospect.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
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