Multiple Champions League winner to retire from football after leaving Real Madrid
Real Madrid remain the Kings of the Champions League and in a couple of weeks time attention will turn to the business of trying to win the 15th in the club’s rich and illustrious history.
Standing in their way will be a Borussia Dortmund side that will be hoping for a bit more luck than they had the last time they played in a Champions League final at Wembley.
On that occasion, Arjen Robben scored a last-minute goal for Bayern Munich to win the trophy in an all German final.
Although he didn’t play on that occasion through injury, Toni Kroos was a Bayern player at the time, before moving on to Los Blancos.
Toni Kroos retires
He certainly made a name for himself at the Spanish giants, and was part of a golden period for the club.
Real’s ‘three-peat’ of Champions League wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018 were as much down to him as any other member of the squad, and he added to his collection of winners medals with the 2022 victory over Liverpool.
In short, Kroos is a bona-fide member of the best Real Madrid squad in decades, but Tuesday brought his retirement announcement via the official Real Madrid website.
‘Real Madrid CF announces that Toni Kroos has decided to end his career as a professional football player after Euro 2024’ a statement read.
‘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 world football.
‘Toni Kroos arrived at our club in 2014, and has been a fundamental player in one of the most successful periods in the 122-year history of Real Madrid. During the ten seasons in which he has defended our shirt and our shield, he has won 22 titles in 463 games to date: 4 European Cups, 5 Club World Cups, 4 European Super Cups, 4 Leagues, 1 Copa del Rey and 4 Super Cups from Spain.’
With his partner-in-crime Luka Modric still not having made public his own decision whether to stay on at the club or not, Real Madrid supporters might well be saying goodbye to two of their best ever players in the space of the same summer.
Time waits for no man of course, and if the fire doesn’t burn as brightly any longer, then it’s time to get out. It still takes a brave man to make the leap, however.
Retiring at the top of his game will ensure that Toni Kroos will always remain a legendary figure in Real Madrid and football history.
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