Toni Kroos has announced he will retire after Euro 2024, with the midfielder stating that he wanted to "finish my career at the peak of my performance level".
In an emotional announcement, the Real Madrid star said: "After 10 years, at the end of the season this chapter comes to an end. I will never forget that insolent successful time! I would particularly like to thank everyone that welcomed me with an open heart and trusted me.
"But especially I would like to thank you, dear Madridistas, for your affection and your love from the first day until the last one. At the same time this decision means that my career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship.
"As I have always said: Real Madrid is and will be my last club." During his time in Madrid, Kroos has won four LaLiga titles, four Champions Leagues, four Spanish Super Cups and a Copa del Rey.
However, things could have been majorly different for Kroos if a move from Bayern Munich to Manchester United had not collapsed shortly before he joined Madrid. Speaking in 2022, Kroos said he had been "convinced" to join United by David Moyes but the deal fell through after he was sacked as manager and replaced by Louis van Gaal.
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"I knew beforehand that United wanted me," Kroos said. "Moyes absolutely underlined that. It was a really nice afternoon with very pleasant people. We talked a lot about United's football plan, which convinced me.
"But we also got to know each other as people. We knew quite a bit about the Moyes family afterwards. We talked about how we lived and how we all imagined life as a family. In the end we broke up to do it. So we agreed verbally.
Kroos has enjoyed ten years at Real Madrid, but only joined the club after a move to Manchester United fell through (Getty Images)"The next step should be to look at everything on the spot in Manchester. The move would not have been that complicated - after all, we only had one child at the time, seven months old. It would all have worked."
Reflecting on the move falling through, Kroos added: "I'm not someone who thinks about hypotheticals. Yes, it was close. I almost went to Manchester United. But that's not how things turned out.
"I don't have these what-if-thoughts. Because there are no real answers to them. The only thing I can say with certainty is that I probably wouldn't have won the Champions League three times with Manchester United."
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