The Daily Mail reported that Manchester City will compete strongly with Real Madrid to sign Florian Wirtz, the star of Bayer Leverkusen.
The German international will renew his contract with Leverkusen until the summer of 2028, but according to German media, he will add a large penalty clause that allows him to leave starting in the summer of 2026.
According to the English report, City sees Wirtz as the ideal successor to Kevin De Bruyne in leading the attacking line of Pep Guardiola’s squad, so he is the club’s first target in the coming period.
In principle, Manchester City is willing to pay 85 million pounds sterling, or about 100 million euros, to sign Wirtz.
The current crisis remains that the player will likely not leave the Bay Arena until the 2026 World Cup, in addition to the fact that 100 million euros is less than Leverkusen’s valuation of the 22-year-old.
The newspaper “Bild” had previously indicated that the release clause in Wirtz’s new contract would reach 175 million euros.
Real Madrid is one of the most interested parties in signing Wirtz, and Bayern Munich has announced on more than one occasion that it will fight to keep the player in the Bundesliga and join its ranks.
