Honorary President Uli Hoeness has expressed his admiration for Leverkusen’s young star Florian Wirtz, identifying him as a dream player for Bayern Munich, Soccernet.football reports.
Hoeness, who won the World Cup and European Championship with Germany as well as three Bundesliga titles and three European Cups with Bayern, is a firm admirer of Wirtz.
Speaking at the 75th anniversary of SV Seligenporten as per Fussball, Hoeneß said,
“I am a friend of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz. Each of us knows that I would love to see him at Bayern Munich.”
The 21-year-old Wirtz, currently under contract with Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen until 2027, has caught the attention of many top clubs.
Despite this interest, Wirtz has stated his intention to stay with Bayer for another year. A potential transfer could cost over 100 million euros.
Hoeness, however, believes that the hype around Wirtz and Musiala is misplaced. He commented:
“Under these pressures, they cannot develop as they need to. I think it is madness to compare Jamal with Maradona. You are doing the young players no favours by doing this. There is no question that they can get to that point. But I think putting them under so much pressure now is a huge mistake.”
Hoeness also expressed satisfaction with the current state of Bayern Munich, praising new coach Vincent Kompany.
“He is a man who comes from football,” Hoeness said, adding that Kompany’s core message emphasises the importance of hard work.
Regarding Bayern’s planned restructuring, Hoeness clarified that any new signings would depend on the departures of some key players.
“Max Eberl and Christoph Freund know full well that new players can only come to FC Bayern if one or two prominent departures are recorded. We don’t have any money-wasters at FC Bayern,” he stated.
Bayern Munich has already spent nearly 130 million euros on players like Joao Palhinha, Michael Olise, and Hiroki Ito this summer.