Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has revealed that Florian Wirtz would have preferred a move to Real Madrid over Liverpool. “We were prepared to go the extra mile and do everything possible to secure his contract extension. For a while, it looked like it might happen, but ultimately Florian decided what was best for him. He wants to win the Champions League,” Carro commented to Sport1. “We thought we were capable of going further with this team than we did. Florian saw that we won the Bundesliga, but a Champions League triumph with Bayer might be considerably tougher. He definitely would have joined Real Madrid if Xabi Alonso had made an offer for him. Currently, Alonso has less power at Real Madrid than he did with us. Florentino Pérez makes the transfer decisions there, not him,” Carro stated. Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz worked together at Leverkusen, recording only one loss across all competitions during the 2023/24 season. The German international was transferred to Liverpool last summer.