By Jamie Spencer
Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz has refused to say whether he would prefer to join Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the future.
Wirtz has emerged as one of Europe's hottest talents in recent years and played a key role in Leverkusen's emphatic 2023/24 campaign that saw the club once dubbed 'Neverkusen' complete a Bundesliga and DFB Pokal double. The only game they lost all season was the Europa League final.
The 21-year-old returned from an ACL injury 18 months ago and went on to rack up 38 direct goal involvements in 49 appearances across all competitions. He bears significant expectation in Germany's hopes of winning Euro 2024 on home soil this summer too.
Leverkusen expect Wirtz to stay this summer, but an important decision may have to be made come the end of the 2024/25 season – at which point he will have two years left on his contract.
Madrid and Bayern are two of the sides most heavily linked with a move.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Euro 2024 commencing, Wirtz was specifically asked if he wanted to play with Germany colleague and Bayern maestro Jamal Musiala at club level.
"We both joke about this, it would be interesting to play in the same team in a way. But we are both happy in our respective clubs," was the response.
Pressed further to pick between Madrid and Bayern, Wirtz gave nothing away: "Jamal is already playing for Bayern and I am comfortable at Leverkusen."
Manchester City have been tracking Wirtz since before his injury, reigniting interest once he returned to the pitch at the beginning of last year. Liverpool have also paid considerable attention to the player, as have domestic giants Bayern Munich. 90min has previously revealed a preference to remain in Germany could ultimately boost Bayern's chances over foreign rivals.
But it has been claimed in Spain in recent days that Real Madrid have already struck an informal agreement with Wirtz for him to join them in 2025.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Real Madrid or Bayern Munich? Florian Wirtz pushed on preferred transfer.
