Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has announced he will retire from professional football after the European Championships in his home country.
The 34-year-old’s tremendously illustrious career includes four La Liga and Champions League wins with Spanish giants, Real Madrid.
Before joining Real, he won 3 Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich including the Treble in the 2012/13 season.
He was a key part of the German team that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He had initially quit international football in July 2021 but Germany manager, Julian Nagelsmann talked him out of retirement. It is doubtful he will succeed a second time.
“I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it on my own,” Kroos said on his Instagram handle.
He revealed that the day he signed for Real “changed his life as a footballer but especially as a person” and his “only thought” now is to help Los Blancos to a 15th European Cup. Real faces Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.
“I have always said Real Madrid is and will be my last club,” he said.
“After 10 years at the end of the season, this chapter comes to an end. I will never forget this successful time.”
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez paid tribute to the midfielder: “Toni Kroos is one of the great players in the history of Real Madrid and this club is and will always be his home.”