Florian Wirtz To Stay At Leverkusen Despite Interest From Europe's Top Clubs

Florian Wirtz will remain at Bayer Leverkusen next season despite interest from top European clubs, according to the club's managing director Simon Rolfes. Wirtz has been in exceptional form throughout Xabi Alonso's first full season at the BayArena, which could conclude with an unbeaten treble.

Leverkusen won 28 of their 34 games, becoming the first team to go unbeaten through a Bundesliga campaign. They face Atalanta in the Europa League final and Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final this week. Wirtz was named Bundesliga Player of the Year earlier this week, having scored 11 goals and provided 11 assists throughout the campaign.

In the Europa League, Wirtz has been involved in eight goals (four goals, four assists) and created 28 chances from open play. His performance has reportedly attracted interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Manchester United. However, Leverkusen are not considering a sale.

"He will stay. His father and agent said it before. He has a contract here and he's really happy," Rolfes told Sky Sports. "This is the right place for him to develop as a player and person. His future is bright, that's for sure."

Rolfes praised Wirtz's combination of talent and work rate, noting that he shows a great will to win and work hard—attributes not typically associated with a number 10 but more with a defensive player.

Magic in his boots ⚽️

Florian #Wirtz is the Bundesliga Player of the Season! 🏆

#BundesligaPOTM | #Bayer04 #Werkself pic.twitter.com/w5u7xhh3Qq

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) May 20, 2024

When Bayern Munich last failed to win the Bundesliga title in 2012, they responded by signing key players from rivals Borussia Dortmund over the next few years. Asked if Leverkusen had any concerns about that happening to them, Rolfes said: "For sure 10, 15 or 20 years ago that was a normal thing but things are changing."

Rolfes highlighted that the European football environment has changed significantly. "It's an international market now with the Premier League, and clubs in Spain, Italy and France as well," he said.

Bayern Munich and Liverpool were unsuccessful in their attempts to lure Alonso away from Westphalia. Rolfes expressed confidence that Alonso would stay: "Maybe that was a little more special but I'm always convinced you have to concentrate on your strengths."

"I was convinced we could offer a lot to him and our players with other interest in them. That's why I was always calm," Rolfes added.