The agent of Florian Wirtz has revealed how he attempted to engineer a move to Real Madrid, prior to the player’s transfer to Liverpool.
Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for a then-British record fee that could reach £116m. The 22-year-old has been one of Europe’s most coveted talents after winning back-to-back Bundesliga Player of the Season awards at Leverkusen.
Bayern Munich and Manchester City had both been interested, before Liverpool landed the midfielder in a record-breaking deal.
However, Wirtz’s agent, Volker Struth, has revealed how he wanted Wirtz to link up with former Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid.
He approached the Spanish side over a potential deal but saw his proposal declined. Struth revealed how Real Madrid did not have the finances for the deal but outlined his wish for Wirtz to ‘one day’ play at the Bernabeu.
“During the period when a move to Liverpool or Bayern was being discussed, I called Xabi Alonso and told him: ‘You have to take the lad from Leverkusen with you to Real,’” Struth told German outlet Bild.
“Xabi replied: ‘You don’t have to tell me that, you have to tell Florentino Perez (Real Madrid’s president).’
“So I actually sent him a message: ‘Dear Florentino, I’ve told you many times before: I have a player here whom I would highly recommend. Florian Wirtz makes every team in the world better.’”
“That year, it simply wasn’t the right time due to the squad and the budget. Even Real Madrid’s coffers aren’t always overflowing. But my wish remains that Florian will play there one day.”
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