Bayern Munich appear to have suffered a major blow in the race to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool are now leading the race to sign the 22-year-old, and the Reds have made a formal approach to sign the gifted attacking midfielder.
The Reds are in talks with Leverkusen to sign Wirtz, per Fabrizio Romano, after they have received initial “green light” from the player.
Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany reported that Wirtz has officially turned down a move to Bayern, and it means the Bavarian giants will have to look for options elsewhere.
A dramatic change of events in the last few days
Florian Wirtz applauds the fans
(Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images)
Bayern were confident that they would pull off the deal for Wirtz after Vincent Kompany approached him directly to share his plans.
The Bavarian giants were ready to pay around €100m [£83.9m] fee for Wirtz, but Liverpool moved in quickly, and the player now wants to move to Merseyside.
🚨💣 Liverpool have made formal approach to Bayer Leverkusen for Florian Wirtz!
After initial green light from the player, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are in talks over transfer fee/package.
Liverpool want the deal to be done very soon, not a long saga — to avoid surprises. pic.twitter.com/ffOPqtEbUm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 23, 2025
Romano claims that Liverpool and Leverkusen are now in talks over the transfer fee and package.
Put it simply, Bayern are now completely out of the race.
CF Bayern Insider’s Christian Falk reported that Bayern made a late attempt to persuade Wirtz to change his mind and held renewed talks with the player’s camp.
Bayern will have to look for options elsewhere
It is indeed a big transfer blow for us. Wirtz is a class player and would have been a tremendous signing for the club.
Bayern feared that Liverpool might hijack the deal for Wirtz, and unfortunately, the Reds managed to convince him to move to Anfield.
However, it seems Wirtz was attracted by Liverpool’s project. Plus, the Reds are also willing to meet Leverkusen’s asking price.
Bayern probably will turn their attention towards signing a proper winger rather than a number 10 after missing out on Wirtz.
We have been reportedly linked with moves for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma, while Rafael Leao is another concrete option for us.
A massive summer transfer window is coming up for Bayern, and we have plenty to look forward to in the coming months.
The Bayern Insider: Munich fears Liverpool in Florian Wirtz transfer poker