Barcelona and Real Madrid asked to shell out a mammoth €150 million for Bundesliga wonderkid | OneFootball

Barcelona, during their golden generation, set an absurdly high bar in football, with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, and others dominating the sport and winning four UCLs in ten years.

Pep Guardiola revolutionised the sport during this time, which has since led to most elite teams playing in a particular style, and players trying to follow the Barcelona DNA in their profile and also dreaming of playing at the Camp Nou.

And despite going through tougher times in recent years, Barcelona have been able to maintain this pull on players, including newly-crowned Bundesliga champion Florian Wirtz.

The German is a well-documented Barça fan and grew up idolising Lionel Messi, among other players. However, it seems pursuing him will be very difficult, if not impossible.

A ton and a half

According to GOAL, Bayer Leverkusen are chasing a mammoth price of €150 million for Wirtz’s signature, as their CEO confirmed in an interview with Radio MARCA.

“No one is unsellable, but for less than €150 million, Wirtz is not leaving,” Fernando Carro said.

“2027 is roughly how long he will stay at Leverkusen. There is no answer to what will happen when. We should wait for the next two years and then we will see what happens,” he added, speaking about his contract.

Leverkusen’s very own. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Barcelona have long-dreamed of pursuing Wirtz to reinforce their midfield, but there is little to no chance that they will be able to shell out €150 million for his signing, be it next summer or even 2026, at this point.

Competition from Real Madrid

Barcelona are not the only La Liga team interested in bringing Florian Wirtz tot he club, with Real Madrid also holding concrete interest in his services.

The Spanish capital outfit ‘love’ him, and could push to sign him in 2025, but will also likely face competition from Manchester City, who seem interested in signing him as Kevin de Bruyne’s long-term replacement.

Wirtz has, so far, proven to be worth the €150 million Leverkusen want for him, with 17 goals and 18 assists across all competitions, including a hattrick vs Werder Bremen on the league-clinching weekend.