Toni Kroos, star of Germany and Real Madrid, will retire after Euro 2024

MADRID —

Toni Kroos will retire after attempting to win another Champions League with Real Madrid and the European Championship with Germany in his country.

The 34-year-old midfielder announced on Tuesday that the decision was very difficult to make, but that “the best time is now.”

“I don’t want to get to the point where people think why is he still playing, he doesn’t have the level, I’m on the bench, I don’t like it. And I don’t want to go there. That’s why I want to end at the best moment,” he added on the podcast he produces with his brother.

Madrid thanked Kroos and praised his achievements in the team.

“Real Madrid would like to express its gratitude and affection to Toni Kroos, a player who is already part of the history of Real Madrid and one of the greatest legends of our club and world football,” the statement said.

Kroos was crowned world champion in Brazil in 2014 with Germany and also enjoyed a successful career with Bayern Munich, where he won the Champions League and three Bundesliga titles.

Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 1 in London. Kroos’ record already includes the Champions League, which 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 national team in 2014, Kroos has helped win 22 titles, including four European Cups and four championships. He made 463 appearances in a Madrid shirt, which characterizes him as “a fundamental player during one of the most successful periods in its 122-year history.”

“Toni Kroos is one of the greatest players in the history of Real Madrid and this club has been and will always be his home,” said club president Florentino Perez.

In their statement, the club also said that Kroos will forever remain in the hearts of all fans “for the excellence of his football and for being a player who gave everything for this shirt, always embodying the values ​​of Real Madrid.”

The midfielder’s contract with Madrid expired at the end of this season and, apparently, both sides have agreed to extend it.

Luka Modric, another Madrid midfield veteran whose contract expires this season, wrote an emotional message to Kroos on social media.

“I really enjoyed playing with you. It was truly an honor for me to share the Real Madrid midfield with you,” the Croatian emphasized. “You have qualities that make you a unique and special footballer, and there will never be another Toni Kroos.”

In February, Kroos announced that he would play at the Euros with his team at the request of coach Julian Nagelsmann. He has not worn a Germany shirt for almost three years, since the defeat to England in the last 16 of the last European Championship.

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 said on Tuesday. “There was also the opportunity to play at the Euros and then another year. Was this feasible? If I asked my body, it would say yes, but my mind decided otherwise, and one has nothing to do with the other.”

“I started playing football when I was six years old and continued until I was 34. I’m experiencing something very, very transcendental,” he stressed. “Football has always been at the center of my life. So it’s not so easy to say, but the decision has been made, and now I can understand this feeling of being very happy and at the same time very sad.”