Florian wirtz admitted major transfer ambition – 'i wanted to play for them'

FLORIAN WIRTZ MAY BE NEARING A BIG-MONEY TRANSFER TO LIVERPOOL THIS SUMMER BUT IT WAS ANOTHER TEAM ON HIS MIND WHEN HE REVEALED WHICH CLUB HE HAD A CHILDHOOD DREAM OF REPRESENTING 13:55, 30

May 2025 Florian Wirtz admitted that he grew up wanting to play for Barcelona - as the Bayer Leverkusen superstar nears a summer move to Liverpool. The 22-year-old is the central figure in

one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer so far, with the attacking midfielder said to be closing in on a move to the Premier League champions. Having been with Leverkusen since 2020

after spending 10 years in the academy system of Bundesliga side Cologne, Wirtz emerged as a highly rated talent in the 2020/21 season, scoring eight goals across all competitions. He only

grew in importance as the years went on as Leverkusen become more prominent in the German title race that culminated in the club winning the Bundesliga for the first time in their history

last season. They also went unbeaten for good measure. It was during his breakout season in 2021 that Wirtz was quizzed about his footballing ambitions. It was then that he was also asked

whether he harboured any career goals. The youngster admitted it was a childhood dream to represent Barcelona. "As a little boy, I always wanted to play for Barcelona," he said to

Bild. "That's still the case, but I still have some time until then (laughs)." Article continues below Even back in 2022, Wirtz insisted he was open to moving abroad in his

career and never saw himself as a player that would remain in his home country for the rest of his career. "It depends on where I see the next steps in my career," he said to Sky

Sports Germany when asked about the possibility of leaving Germany. "Playing abroad at some point is definitely a possibility. But I haven't thought about that yet. I'll just

wait and see what happens and then decide where my next step will take me. Whether it'll be at another club or at Leverkusen, I don't know yet." Barcelona boss Hansi Flick is

someone particularly knowledgeable about the immense talent Wirtz possesses given he coached the attacker with the Germany national team for two years. While Flick - who led the Spanish

giants to the La Liga title this season - would surely be keen to reunite with his former player, Wirtz looks set to join Arne Slot at Anfield in what is reported to be a club-record fee for

the Merseyside outfit. Article continues below _Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special

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