Tonis Kroos has surprisingly announced he will retire from professional soccer at 34 years old. The Real Madrid and Germany midfielder will play his last games with the Blancos including the UEFA Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June, 1 and then the UEFA 2024 Euro with his national team before retiring.
Kroos released the news on social media, speaking to Real Madrid fans.
“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. I am happy and proud, that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it by my own. My ambition was always to finish my career at the peak of my performance level. From now on there is only one leading thought: a por la 15!!! HALA MADRID Y NADA MAS!”
The German started his career at Bayern Munich where he played from 2007 to 2014 with a season loan in 2009 at Bayer Leverkusen, before joining the Spanish giants in the summer 2014 where he became one of the faces of an incredible winning cycle. At Bayern, Kroos won three Bundesliga titles, three DFB Pokal, one German Supercup, one Champions League, one UEFA Supercup and one Club’s World Cup. At Real, he won four LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, four Spanish Supercups, four Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and five club’s World Cup.
On top of this incredible career, he also won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with the German national team. In 728 games over his career, he scored 67 goals in all competitions, plus 108 games played with Germany where he’s scored 17 goals so far. After announcing his retirement from international football in 2021, he made his comeback in March 2024 after he was approached and persuaded by Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann. The 2024 UEFA Euro will mark his last appearances as a soccer player.
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