Toni Kroos announced yesterday that he does not accept Real Madrid’s renewal offer and that he will hang up his boots after playing this summer’s next European Championship with Germany, news that left Madrid fans sad and shocked just a week and a half before the match the Champions League final at Wembley against Borussia Dortmund. With 34?years of age on January 4, the news of his retirement at an age that in modern football is considered quite early confirms the uniqueness of a footballer who has reached the Santiago Bernabéu and who, with Luka Modric ( about which right now there are many doubts about his continuity) and Casemiro has formed what is possibly the best midfield in the history of Real Madrid, big words.
Should he win the next Champions League, Kroos would join the select group of players who have won six European Cups, in which right now there is only Paco Gento. But even if he doesn’t win it, his record is already huge, with five Champions Leagues (four at Madrid and one at Bayern). And beyond trophies, Kroos will always be accompanied by the aura of a player with an overwhelming personality in a world where clone footballers abound.
Kroos’ career is full of details that make him unique. The first, leaving Bayern in June 2014, when a year earlier he had already won the Champions League and was emerging as one of the leaders of Pep Guardiola’s team, who loved a player with his characteristics. Toni Kroos arrived in Madrid without knowing a word of Spanish. The first thing they said about him in the dressing room was that “he is more German than Merkel”. In an environment of egotistical footballers with the likes of Cristiano or Bale, Kroos took ownership from day one. He did not rush to learn Spanish and continued with his German customs, such as having dinner at 6.30 pm “because that is the time for dinner at the Kroos’ house, as we have three small children.”
In the first season in Madrid, Kroos already played 55 games. In the ten seasons of white he has never been seriously injured and in the one in which he played the fewest matches he reached 42. His first coach in Madrid was Ancelotti; the last one too. These days the coach defined him like this: “I came a year before him and when he arrived [the following season] he became irreplaceable. Now he is irreplaceable, but on and off the field.”
Kroos leaves because he keeps his word. He explained it in a thirty-second video. “I’ve always wanted to be remembered above all.” Last season he didn’t want to continue but they convinced him to extend his career for another year. From within the club they justify that he has announced his departure now to prevent a repeat of what happened in the final in Kyiv in 2018. Cristiano announced that he was leaving and ruined the party.
In his farewell letter Kroos says: “I will never forget this very successful decade. July 17, 2014, the day of my presentation at Real Madrid, the day that changed my life. My life as a footballer, but above all as a person. It was the beginning of a new life at the biggest club in the world.” Another phrase marks his personality. He thanks Florentino Pérez for signing him, but “above all I want to thank all the Madrid players for the support from the first day to the last”.
In its farewell statement, Real Madrid emphasized that “Kroos will always represent the values ??of this club”. And after unearthing the titles, Florentino Pérez dedicated a few words to him: “Toni Kroos is one of the greatest players in the history of Real Madrid and this club is and will always be his home”.
Among the messages from the staff, Vinícius stands out: “Genius. That’s the closest word I’ve found to describe you, Toni. And yet it is far from what you deserve. Today is a sad day for me and for the Real Madrid fans. But it’s a terrible day for the ball, for football. Knowing that soon we won’t have you anymore. You could give much more, much more. But I understand you. Thank you for every pass, for every orientation and for allowing me to learn so much these years”.
Vinícius knows what he’s talking about. In his ten years at Madrid Toni Kroos had a 94% success rate.
