Even for Florian Wirtz, Real Madrid and Liverpool will balk at this asking price

Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz will be the biggest topic in the 2025 summer transfer window, as he is one of the best playmakers in the world and very much wanted by Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool in a who’s who of world football’s most iconic clubs.

There’s a sense that Real Madrid are the early favorites to sign Wirtz despite their embarrassment of riches in the attacking midfield, which includes Jude Bellingham and phenom Arda Guler.

But Liverpool will be lurking, just as they were for Kylian Mbappe. They may be the biggest underdogs in this battle and generally don’t sign “Galactic” transfers like Wirtz, instead focusing on undervalued, emerging stars like, say, Mohamed Salah from Roma.

According to a report from Diario Sport, Bayer Leverkusen have set an initial asking price of 150 million euros for the 21-year-old. And since Wirtz’s contract runs through 2026/2027, the ball is in Die Werkself’s court to set a sky-high initial offer.

Barcelona don’t have that kind of money to spend, and even though they have made financial risks on inferior players in the past, even they won’t gamble their future on Wirtz when they are already strong in the positions he plays.

Bayern are, likewise, also prudent when making transfers, with Harry Kane being the one example of Die Roten reaching deep into their pockets in order to make a nine-figure transfer.

So that leaves Real Madrid and Liverpool. Real Madrid, in particular, have shown a willingness to pay any price for a player if they truly believe in them, as they did submit a 200 million euro transfer offer to PSG for Kylian Mbappe in 2021 before he ultimately joined the Merengues for free.

But as the Leny Yoro transfer saga taught us, Florentino Perez is becoming less interested in fighting with Premier League giants financially and bankrupting himself for players when he can wait for them to run down their contracts.

Real Madrid, therefore, aren’t going to splurge 150 million euros or maybe even 100 million euros on Wirtz when they already have Bellingham, Guler, and even Brahim Diaz as attacking midfield options.

Liverpool are in a similar boat. They don’t sign players for 150 million euros, and as much as they would love to make an exception for Wirtz, it’s difficult to see the Reds bucking their sustainability model for another attacking midfielder.