“I want to lead my team to a Champions League place,” Florian Wirtz said ahead of the season in an interview with Sky. After finishing sixth in the Bundesliga last season, Bayer Leverkusen want to end their two-year run without UCL football. While the best and most valuable players play in the competition every year, the 18-year-old is among the players with the highest market value to have never played in the most important club competition in the world.
The only players with a higher market value than Wirtz, who ranks second with a market value of €65 million, are Mikel Oyarzabal from Real Sociedad and Declan Rice from West Ham United—the two share first place with a market value of €70 million. Since his breakthrough in 2019, Rice has been linked with several top clubs in the Premier League, but West Ham United’s transfer demands have torpedoed any potential move. Hammers’ manager David Moyes wanted £100 million (€118m) for the defender in the last window and has since pointed out that the London-based club could ask for even more.
Rice & Saka in the top 5: The most valuable player without a Champions League game
Wirtz, who is under contract until 2026, is in a similar transfer category. But according to Bayer Leverkusen, director of sport Rudi Völler, a transfer will not be possible until the summer of 2023. “Definitely,” Völler recently said when asked whether Wirtz will wear the Leverkusen shirt next season.
The wait for the UCL: Zaha at Palace – Saka & Vlahovic other examples
While Wirtz and other young stars like Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina), and Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) are still at the beginning of their career and will have plenty of opportunities to play in the Champions League, Wilfried Zaha has already missed a few chances to play in the world’s premier club competition. The Ivorian will celebrate his 29th birthday this week and has never played in the UCL or Europa League.
Crystal Palace are currently 13th in England and unlikely to ever qualify for the Champions League. Zaha’s market value of €45 million makes him the most valuable player in the Palace’s squad and is under contract until 2023. This summer was the third year in a row he tried to leave the Eagles. But like it was the case for Price, his club wanted €100 million to agree to a transfer.
