There is arguably no more exciting player to watch in the world right now than the Germany international lighting up the BayArena
It wasn't the least bit surprising to hear Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeness state publicly earlier this month that he'd "love" to see Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz at the Allianz Arena. The Bavarians have plenty of previous when it comes to signing their biggest rivals' best players. As Jurgen Klopp once famously said, Bayern are like a James Bond villain, the Bundesliga bullies with more money and more resources than everyone else within the German game, meaning they're nearly always able to buy whomever they want, whenever they want.
Bayern were also made immediately aware of Wirtz's prodigious gifts when he became the Bundesliga's youngest-ever goal-scorer at 17 years and 34 days old by beating Manuel Neuer with a wonderful curling effort at the BayArena all the way back on June 6, 2000. However, even Hoeness admitted that his club probably has only a "10 percent chance" of signing Wirtz – and, truth be told, that might even be an optimistic assessment.
For starters, Wirtz seems perfectly happy at the BayArena – for now at least – and, secondly, if/when he does eventually decide to leave, Bayern risk being blown out of the water by even richer rivals like Real Madrid and Manchester City. Because make no mistake about it: right now, Wirtz is the best No.10 in world football, which is remarkable when one considers that his top-flight career could have ended shortly after it had begun…
Record-breaker rocked by injury
March 13, 2022 – the day Wirtz tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a Bundesliga clash with Koln. He was still only 18 at the time, meaning he had both youth and time on his side as he began his long road to recovery. However, there was a natural fear that Wirtz might never be the same again after one of the most feared injuries in football, which would have been a sporting tragedy, as he'd looked like a generational talent before being sidelined for 10 months.
Wirtz became the youngest player in Leverkusen's history when he made his professional debut just 15 days after turning 17 on May 18, 2020, and broke a succession of Bundesliga records as he became a regular starter at the BayArena.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportMessi-like qualities
Consequently, as Wirtz neared a return to first-team action in January 2023, there wasn't just excitement within the world of German football – but also an undeniable air of anxiety. Xabi Alonso wasn't worried, though. Leverkusen's new coach had already seen enough in training to convince him that Wirtz had lost none of the attributes that marked him out as a future superstar.
"There are good players and there are players who look good on the pitch," Alonso mused ahead of Wirtz's much-anticipated comeback. "The player who looks good does things that are nice, but not necessarily efficient. Why is Lionel Messi so good? Because he knows how and when to play simple passes. Messi says: 'You're in a better position? Here, there you have the ball!'
"It's not always about making the most brilliant move, but the best and smartest. Florian can do that. That's why he's so good." Happily, it wouldn't take Wirtz long to remind everyone what all the fuss had been about.
Getty Images SportStar of Leverkusen's fairy tale
By April 13, 2023, less than three months after reappearing for the start of the second half of the Bundesliga season, Wirtz had been directly involved in 12 goals in just 16 outings in all competitions.
It took a little while for the old intensity and physicality to return but, by the start of the following campaign, it was clear that Wirtz wasn't just back, he was even better than before.
"Belief in his own quality is something that he's always had," Bayer's managing director of sport Simon Rolfes told . "But now he has this aggressiveness going into duels. It took him a while after the injury to be confident on that front, [but] he's taken giant strides in that aspect."
Consequently, Wirtz was perfectly poised to play a pivotal part in one of the most remarkable stories in modern football: The transformation of 'Neverkusen' into 'Neverlusen'.
Getty Images Sport'You can't defend against Florian Wirtz'
Leverkusen's undefeated domestic double in 2023-24 was the epitome of a team triumph. Every single person at the club had contributed to an unprecedented success. Alonso was the managerial mastermind, the genius coach who tied it all together, but Rolfes & Co. also deserved enormous credit for providing him with the tools the Spaniard required to sculpt a masterpiece.
Alex Grimaldo, Jonas Hofmann, Granit Xhaka and Victor Boniface were among several inspired signings – but it was Wirtz, the former teenage wonderkid who had been long tipped to do great things at the BayArena, who was Alonso's most influential player, an attacker with a mix of industry and innovation that made him as effective as he was inspirational.
As Freiburg coach Christian Streich said after his side's loss in Leverkusen on October 29, 2023, "You can't defend against Florian Wirtz." He was right, too: Wirtz was unstoppable in last season's Bundesliga – much like Leverkusen.