{"id":270064,"date":"2025-11-04T02:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T02:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/270064\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T02:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T02:54:07","slug":"bayer-leverkusen-chief-drops-florian-wirtz-real-madrid-bombshell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/270064\/","title":{"rendered":"Bayer Leverkusen Chief Drops Florian Wirtz, Real Madrid Bombshell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_0o26ymc4d\">Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro revealed Florian Wirtz would have chosen Real Madrid over Liverpool if the Spanish giants came knocking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_81llr93k5\">Wirtz, who played a pivotal role in helping Bayer Leverkusen win their first-ever Bundesliga title in 2023\u201324, opted to leave the club this summer and <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/liverpool-smash-british-transfer-record-florian-wirtz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">join Liverpool<\/a> in a deal worth up to \u20ac136.3 million (\u00a3116.1 million, $157.8 million), a then-British <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/transfers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">transfer <\/a>record.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_ft79a1anx\">Yet Carro claims the move would have never happened had his former manager Xabi Alonso and <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/real-madrid\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real Madrid<\/a> come to the table with a concrete offer for Wirtz. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_dnp95yqoj\">\u201c[Wirtz] is someone who wants to win the Champions League,\u201d Carro said on <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sport1.de\/news\/fussball\/bundesliga\/2025\/11\/bayer-boss-so-war-das-wirklich-mit-wirtz-bayern-und-liverpool#google_vignette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SPORT1\u2019s Dopplepass<\/a>. \u201cHe saw that we had won the Bundesliga title, but winning the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen might be more difficult.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_bhre21ifx\">\u201cHe would definitely have gone to Madrid if Xabi had made the offer. But Xabi has less say at Madrid than he does with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_bl32cbwbp\">Instead of vying for any of Alonso\u2019s former Bayer Leverkusen players, Real Madrid signed Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen, \u00c1lvaro Carreras and Franco Mastantuono as they pursue their 16th <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/champions-league\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Champions League<\/a> title under the leadership of their former player. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_zg5t78sjr\">Wirtz, meanwhile, joined the defending English champions along with ex-Bayer Leverkusen teammate Jeremie Frimpong. <\/p>\n<p><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"Florian Wirtz\" title=\"Florian Wirtz\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Florian Wirtz is still seeking his first goal in a red shirt. \/ Ralf Ibing\/firo sportphoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_nncg0yfez\">The timing of Carro\u2019s statement coincides with <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/liverpool\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Liverpool <\/a>and Real Madrid\u2019s highly anticipated Champions League clash on Tuesday, Nov. 4. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_i6v91tf5n\">For the first time in his career, Wirtz will face off with the club he apparently wanted to join over the club he will represent at Anfield. The German international will hope to make a statement performance after a slow start in a red shirt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_2yyt04mav\">Through 14 appearances, Wirtz has yet to score a goal for Liverpool. The midfielder has recorded just three assists since his transfer, and two came in a <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/liverpool-player-ratings-vs-eintracht-frankfurt-10-22-25\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">5\u20131 rout over Frankfurt<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_310t2997h\">Arne Slot even limited his blockbuster summer signing to substitute appearances in marquee matches against <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/chelsea\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea<\/a>, <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/manchester-united\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manchester United<\/a> and <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/aston-villa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Aston Villa<\/a>. The Reds only won the latter, breaking a four-game losing streak in the <a class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_aoxits\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/premier-league\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Premier League<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_1mfvp8o-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_dwwvh4pa1\">All eyes will be on Wirtz\u2019s performance when he clashes with the Spanish giants in what is poised to be one of the biggest matches of the Champions League league phase. <\/p>\n<p>READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro revealed Florian Wirtz would have chosen Real Madrid over Liverpool if the Spanish&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270065,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-270064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}