Florian Wirtz’s agent claims Real Madrid passed on signing Liverpool star | OneFootball

Florian Wirtz was one of the most sought-after players last summer, after breaking into the limelight at Bayer Leverkusen.

Wirtz helped Leverkusen win their first Bundesliga title in the 2023/24 season. He was named Player of the Season and included in the Team of the Season.

He had several suitors before joining Liverpool for €150 million – the record British transfer at the time.

Wirtz’s agent, Volker Struth, has now revealed that he wanted his client to join Real Madrid. The move would have reunited him with Xabi Alonso, who had joined the club from Leverkusen.

He told Bild’s Phrasenmaher podcast: “During the period when a move to Liverpool or Bayern was being discussed, I called Alonso and told him to take him to Madrid.

Struth claims he subsequently messaged Madrid president Florentino Perez, but his attempts to secure a move to Spain for Wirtz failed to yield the desired result.

Having signed Dean Huijsen, Franco Mastantuono, Alvaro Carreras and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Madrid passed on the opportunity to sign Wirtz.

Madrid also have Arder Guler and Jude Bellingham, both capable of playing in the number ten role, making a move for the German less appealing.

“That year, it simply wasn’t the right time due to the squad and the budget,’ Struth added.

“Even Madrid’s coffers aren’t always overflowing. But my wish remains that Florian will play there one day.”

Wirtz is getting back to his best form after a slow start at Liverpool. He has bagged six goals and eight assists in 35 appearances across all competitions.

Stats from transfermarkt.com.