Image Credits: Imago Images
Florian Wirtz’s £116m move to Liverpool continues to throw up new storylines, with star adviser Volker Struth now lifting the lid on how close the German could have come to joining Real Madrid instead.
The Sports360 chief has emerged as a key figure around the 22-year-old playmaker, even though Wirtz remains formally represented in contract matters by his parents’ company. Struth’s role, via his Leverkusen‑based Sports360 agency, centres on marketing and career guidance, adding the experience of a man who also works with the likes of Toni Kroos and Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann.
It’s suggested that Wirtz uses Sports360 to help handle major commercial deals, including a high-profile Pepsi agreement that required coordination with Leverkusen and the DFB. Struth himself has described his work less as a traditional “player agent” and more as an “information supplier”, helping elite footballers understand how they are viewed by clubs and sponsors and how to build a long-term personal brand.
However, it did not stop Struth putting out his feelers over a potential move to Real Madrid for the 22-year-old, with the agent revealing to BILD that he called Xabi Alonso to try and convince him to sign Wirtz:
“In the phase when it came to a move to Liverpool or Bayern, I called Xabi Alonso and told him: ‘You have to take the boy from Leverkusen to Real.’ Xabi replied: ‘You don’t have to tell me, you have to tell Florentino Pérez [Real president].’
“I actually sent him a message: ‘Dear Florentino. I’ve told you several times: I have a player here who I would highly recommend to you. Florian Wirtz makes every team in the world better.'”
“It just didn’t work out that year because of the squad and the budget. At Real Madrid, too, the coffers are not so full. But my wish remains that Florian will play there one day.”
In the end, it seems that Real decided the timing and budget were not right, leaving Liverpool free to close a British-record £116m deal and build their new era around the German international. Yet Struth has admitted his “wish” remains that Wirtz one day plays for Madrid, a line that will not go unnoticed on Merseyside.
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