Florian Wirtz was linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Man City before then completing his blockbuster £116m transfer to Liverpool.
Florian Wirtz warms up at Anfield.
Florian Wirtz could have signed for Real Madrid - but he joined Liverpool instead.
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Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro thinks Florian Wirtz would've rejected Liverpool to sign for Real Madrid if the La Liga giants had bid for the Germany star. The Reds fought off interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and Man City to snap up the playmaker in a deal worth up to £116m.
The 22-year-old had frequently been linked with Real Madrid in the past, too, with such speculation heightened after Xabi Alonso left Bayer Leverkusen to return to the Santiago Bernabeu as head coach. And Carro believes Wirtz would have jumped at the opportunity to reunite with Alonso in Madrid - having won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal under the Spaniard at the BayArena - as he explained why a switch to Spain never materialised.
"He would certainly have gone to Madrid, Carro told SPORT1's Doppelpass.
"If Xabi had made the offer. But Xabi has less say at Madrid than he does with us.
"One of Xabi Alonso's great strengths was his ability to work with our scouting department to define who needed to be in our team.
"At Real Madrid, it was different. Florentino Perez decides the transfers, not Xabi Alonso."
Wirtz had previously revealed that Alonso had been happy to see the midfielder join his former club in Liverpool.
"He was really happy that I am coming here," the German revealed when undergoing his medical. "Because he was telling me he came also at 22 to Liverpool."
Meanwhile, Carro also revealed that Leverkusen had been willing to break their wage structure to keep Wirtz at the club, suggesting it looked like an extension may be agreed at one point but conceded the German outfit had 'pestered him too much'.
"The Wirtz family and Florian knew that extending their contracts was our top priority," he added. "We were very cautious with salaries during the summer transfers.
"But we would have been prepared to make an exception for Florian. Definitely in a range that Bayer Leverkusen has never seen before.
"We were prepared to cross the line and give everything to extend the contract. And for a while, it looked like it might work out.
"I know that we sometimes pestered him too much. In the end, Florian decided for himself what he wanted to do. His parents are his advisors, and I think it's good that they fully respect Florian's wishes."
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Carro also conceded that Wirtz’s desire to win the Champions League was a motivating factor in his decision to leave Leverkusen, and he revealed that - despite reports suggesting otherwise at the time - the midfielder never reached an agreement with Bayern Munich.
"I don't think that was ever true (about Bayern)," he said. "Our information from Papa Wirtz was: 'That's not correct'.
"He's someone who wants to win the Champions League. We thought that with this team we would have been able to go further than we did.
"He saw that we had won the German championship, but that winning the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen might be more difficult."
Wirtz has endured a mixed start to his Liverpool career, returning three assists from his 14 appearances for the club to date.
He is yet to return a goal contribution in the Premier League, though, and has been utilised as a substitute against Everton, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa in recent weeks, with reports in Spain suggesting Real Madrid are monitoring his situation as a result.
However, Wirtz will be hoping for a recall to Arne Slot's starting XI when Liverpool host Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.