CONFIRMED: €150m man Wirtz signs BOMBSHELL deal

Robin Bairner

• 16 Dec 2024 10:00 GMT
• 3 min read

Florian Wirtz has emerged as a transfer target for the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in recent months, but the 21-year-old has elected to sign a new contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

Wirtz has committed his future to Xabi Alonso’s club, with the Germany international star reported by Kicker to have added at least one year onto his existing deal at B04. His current contract runs until 2028.

The German source reports that the deal is done, with the move set to leave some of Europe’s biggest clubs bitterly disappointed.

Current ETV

Florian Wirtz

AM (C)

Bayer 04

Florian Wirtz

AM (C)

Bayer 04

€96.8M

ETV Range

€72.6M - €121M

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In particular, Man City had seen Wirtz as a figure who might revive their ailing season, with talk of a €150 million move apparently not putting off the defending Premier League champions from at least opening negotiations with Leverkusen.

B04 still expect to lose Wirtz in the summer of 2026, but crucially they will still be able to command top dollar for the player, whose value would have depreciated at that point if his contract was only valid for 12 months beyond that date.

As Kicker puts it: “The risk of being blackmailed in some way by Wirtz's future club would have been far too high.”

Wirtz makes sacrifice to sign new deal

One of the driving forces behind Wirtz’s decision to sign a new deal with Leverkusen is the gratitude that he feels towards the club.

He has been with the Bundesliga champions since 2020, when they signed him as a 16-year-old, and have given him the opportunity to develop into one of the most exciting playmakers in the world game – even helping him overcome an ACL injury earlier in his career.

STATS

Florian Wirtz

AM (C)

Bayer 04

Florian Wirtz

AM (C)

Bayer 04

All Tournaments

2024/25

• 24

  Games

• 11

  Goals

• 5

  Assists

View all stats

Wirtz will also be rewarded with the new status as Bayer Leverkusen’s top-paid player. Kicker reports that he will earn over €10m, though it also stresses that this is well below the figure of €20m that he would have earned had he chosen to move.

He is enjoying a stellar season, with 11 goals and five assists across all competitions.