Toni Kroos will go down as one of the all-time great midfielders.
And on Saturday, the Real Madrid star can bring down the curtain on his glittering club career with one more piece of silverware. Kroos, 34, announced earlier this month he was going to retire from professional football after this summer’s Euros with a desire to go out at the very top.
Incredibly, Germany star Kroos is set to finish with a mind-blowing statistic of 92 per cent average passing accuracy throughout his WHOLE career. The former Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder - who has won 108 caps for Germany - actually has a passing average of 93.6 per cent with Real Madrid.
No wonder Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has said that replacing Kroos is “difficult if not impossible” because he is one of the best passers of his generation. Ancelotti actually begged Kroos to extend his stay for one more year but now regards Jude Bellingham as the natural successor in midfield.
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However, it is so rare to see sports stars - let alone just in football - decide to go out at the very top of their game. That is what Kroos has chosen to do because he already boasts a glittering CV with four European Cups, a World Cup and four La Liga titles.
He is one of the most decorated players in European football and yet, as Manchester United fans will recall with bitter regret, he so nearly moved to Old Trafford in 2014. Former United boss David Moyes agreed a deal with Kroos but he was sacked and replaced by Louis Van Gaal and the Germany midfielder went to Real Madrid instead.
Back in 2020, Kroos recalled: “David Moyes had come to see me and the contract had basically been done but then Moyes was fired and Louis van Gaal came in, which complicated matters.
Kroos will bow out as one of the game's most-decorated players (UEFA via Getty Images)
“Louis wanted time to build his own project. I didn't hear anything from United for a while and started having doubts. Then the World Cup started and Carlo Ancelotti called. And that was it.”
The beauty of Kroos is that he simply keeps the ball to himself. In an era when every manager talks about wanting control, Kroos is just the dream for any team.
In the semi-final first leg in Munich, Bayern dominated the early proceedings and were threatening to overwhelm Real Madrid. Kroos just took the ball, kept it to himself for what seemed like 15 minutes as he took the sting out of the game and did not give it away once.
Then, with brilliant vision and precision, Kroos’ pass released Vinicius Junior to score. Real Madrid ended up drawing 2-2 that night but went through 4-3 on aggregate.
Jude Bellingham is considered as Kroos' long-term replacement in midfield (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bellingham has spoken about Kroos being a mentor for him from the very first training session and regards him as an extraordinary role model. “The ball just goes where he wants,” said Bellingham about his team-mate Kroos.
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Kroos actually retired from international football in July 2021 but did a U-turn in February after talks with Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann. It means that his last club game could see him win the European Cup for a fifth time for Real Madrid.
Then Kroos could help Germany win the Euros this summer in his own country. As goodbyes go, they do not get much more spectacular. And would only be fitting for one of the true greats of European football.
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