MADRID (AP) — Toni Kroos will retire after trying to win another Champions League with Real Madrid and win the European Championship with Germany that will be held in his country.
The 34-year-old midfielder announced on Tuesday that it was a very difficult decision to make, but that the “best time is now.
“I don’t want to go to a point where people think why he still plays, he doesn’t have a level, I’m on the bench, I don’t enjoy it. And I don’t want to get there. That’s why I want to end at the best moment,” he added in the podcast he produces with his brother.
Madrid thanked Kroos and praised his achievements with the team.
“Real Madrid wants to express its gratitude and affection to Toni Kroos, a player who is already part of the history of Real Madrid and who is one of the great legends of our club and of world football,” the note added.
Kroos was crowned World Cup champion in Brazil in 2014 with Germany and also had a successful career at Bayern Munich, where he won a Champions League and three Bundesliga titles.
Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 1 in London. Kroos’ achievements already include the Champions League he won with the white club in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022, in addition to the one he won with Bayern in 2013.
Since joining the Spanish team in 2014, Kroos has helped win 22 titles, including four European Cups and four Leagues. He has played 463 games in the Madrid shirt, which described him as “a fundamental player in one of the most successful periods in its 122-year history.”
“Toni Kroos is one of the great players in the history of Real Madrid and this club is and will always be his home,” said club president Florentino Pérez.
In its statement, the club also noted that Kroos will forever remain in the hearts of all fans “for the excellence of his football and for being a player who has given everything for this shirt, always representing the values of Real Madrid.”
The midfielder’s contract with Madrid expired at the end of this season and, apparently, both parties had negotiated an extension.
Kroos announced in February that he would play in the Euros with his team after a request from the coach, Julian Nagelsmann. He has not worn the Germany shirt for almost three years, since the defeat against England in the round of 16 of the last Euro Cup.
A few months ago, he said he didn’t know what he would do next season.
“It took me almost two months to make this decision,” Kroos declared on Tuesday. “There was also the possibility of playing in the Euros and then another year. Was it feasible? If I ask my body, it would say yes, but my mind has decided otherwise and one thing has nothing to do with the other.”
Source: AP
2024-05-21 17:18:52
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