Real Madrid have been given a big blow in pursuit of Florian Wirtz, who reportedly harbours dream of playing for bitter rivals Barcelona.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Barcelona have joined Real Madrid in the race to sign Florian Wirtz in a future transfer window. And the Catalan giants could have the best chance of snapping up the Bayer Leverkusen prodigy, who harbours dreams of playing for them.
Florian Wirtz has come leaps and bounds since making his first-team debut for Bayer Leverkusen last year. After breaking out in the final stages of the 2019/20 season, the 18-year-old has gone from strength to strength, already establishing himself as a key figure for the Bundesliga outfit.
Wirtz has made a strong start to the 2021/22 season as well, with five goals and four assists in just six appearances so far. At the same time, the player has also broken into the German national side. Meanwhile, his exploits have not gone unnoticed either, with two of his prospective suitors being Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Both the giants of La Liga are always on the lookout for some of the brightest young prospects in the game, with this outlook fetching Real Madrid the likes of Rodrygo Goes, Vinicius Jr. and Eduardo Camavinga, among others in recent times while Barcelona have acquired the services of Pedri, Sergino Dest and most recently Emre Demir.
As far as bolstering their attacking unit is concerned, Real Madrid are hot on the trails of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, both of whom are also targets for Barcelona. However, with competition for the two prodigious forwards being intense, it is prudent to keep an eye out for potential alternatives, with Wirtz a viable target.
However, Barcelona appear to have the edge over Real Madrid in the race to sign the 18-year-old, who has confessed to his desire of playing for the Blaugrana. So, if both the clubs end up making their move for Wirtz, Los Blancos are likely to miss out on the German international.
However, for now, Wirtz is not going anywhere, with his father recently claiming that he will stay put at Bayer Leverkusen for at least two more years. Having said that, it will be interesting to see how the race to sign him intensifies in the coming years, with some of the biggest clubs in Europe hot on his trails already.