‘He is a Legend’: Real Madrid Voices on Toni Kroos before his Final Club Game

Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by Real Madrid teammates last Saturday to mark his final game at the Bernabéu. Photograph: Manu Reino/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock
Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by Real Madrid teammates last Saturday to mark his final game at the Bernabéu. Photograph: Manu Reino/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock
TT

‘He is a Legend’: Real Madrid Voices on Toni Kroos before his Final Club Game

Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by Real Madrid teammates last Saturday to mark his final game at the Bernabéu. Photograph: Manu Reino/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock
Toni Kroos is thrown in the air by Real Madrid teammates last Saturday to mark his final game at the Bernabéu. Photograph: Manu Reino/DeFodi Images/Shutterstock

Carlo Ancelotti: His decision to go is the decision of a great, a decision of character. We are saying farewell to a footballing great who we have been lucky to have here. He is a great midfielder with huge quality and fantastic character, with little ego, who always played for the team; very altruistic. We have been lucky to have him for 10 years. Toni could close his career with a Champions League and at an individual level he deserves it. But his career doesn’t need another Champions League. He has been a fantastic player for 10 years, he had made history with Real Madrid and in world football.

 

Eduardo Camavinga: Toni doesn’t say much but when he does, he kills you. I like that about him.

 

Vinícius Júnior: If you said I could win this final, win the Copa América and Toni would win the Ballon d’Or, I would sign up for that right now. It’s his last year, we won’t see him play again and it’s a pity. We understand his decision and he understands that we’re all sad about it. We are all saying we have to play [this final] for Toni because it’s his last game. He’s an even better person than the player he is. He has been important not just for the club but, above all, for the young players who have turned up here. All of us had seen Toni on the telly and to get to see him every day was special. Toni makes it easier for everyone. He controls the game, always. When there’s pressure, you know if you give the ball to him he’s not going to lose it. He deserves the farewell he got, all the people who were there for him at the Bernabéu, and now we have to do this for him.

 

Jude Bellingham: It’s not about replacing Kroos directly, it is about looking at what he gives us and finding ways that as a team we can plug that hole. His is a role that’s unique. Toni Kroos is a one-of-a-kind player. He can do things no one else in world football can do.

 

Dani Carvajal: I would give him a 10 out of 10. No player would ever speak badly of Toni. Everyone has seen his level and it’s been so consistent too. In the dressing room, he is a fantastic person, he has a fantastic family and he deserves all the good things that happen to him.

 

Joselu: He has treated me like a brother. He embraced me when I came, welcomed me, he has been very good with me this year. The little German I speak, I have been lucky enough that has helped me communicate with him. As a player, I hardly need to say anything: everyone has seen him. He should have won two or three Ballons d’Or. In his position there is no player like him.

 

Fede Valverde: I was surprised. I expected Toni to be around for many more years. But him retiring when he did speaks to the great player he is. There are few players who choose to retire in moments of glory.Anything I say about Toni will always fall short. Playing with him was a dream come true. Off the pitch he is even better. As a person he is incredible. I would love to wear the No 8. I have spoken to him about it. Numbers don’t mean much to me, what matters is that it comes from him, that he wore it, and that he said he wants me to wear it. That’s unique for me, very emotional. I appreciate that he did it privately, that he spoke to me alone. That shows what a great person he is.

 

Luka Modric: I would give the Ballon d’Or to a Madrid player. The favourites are Vinícius, Bellingham and Kroos. Because of our relationship, how close we are and how long we have been together, I would like it to be Toni. When a player goes, it’s always a pity. Especially a player like Toni. I have been with him at Madrid for 10 years and he’s one of the players I have most enjoyed playing with in my career. It’s sad but it’s his decision and, talking to him, he’s very calm, at peace with his decision. It’s a pity people aren’t going to enjoy his football any more because, for sure, he could have given more. But you have to respect his decision.

 

Antonio Rüdiger: I met him in the national team but we hadn’t been that close. Quite honestly, I had a different perception of him, but when I arrived here I came to know the real Toni Kroos. A great guy who loves his family, who I respect a lot. I see him and I see an example to follow, because the way he treats his family I haven’t seen in any other footballer. I don’t need to talk about Kroos the footballer because in Germany he is without doubt the best we have had and he is a legend at Real Madrid.

 

The Guardian Sport



PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
TT

PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra

Paris Saint-Germain retained a six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a labored 3-0 home win over Toulouse on Friday.
The defending champion dominated the first half but it took until the 35th minute to open the scoring.
Young Portuguese midfielder João Neves spun to meet a cross from the right and struck a superb half volley from just outside the box.
Lucas Beraldo got a second with six minutes remaining when he pounced on loose ball and fired home, The Associated Press reported.
Vitinha made it 3-0 in stoppage time when he showed fine footwork inside the box to finish off a quick counterattack.
The scoreline was harsh on Toulouse, which came into the game in a more even second half.
Only Vitinha’s last-gasp tackle stopped Zakaria Aboukhlal from equalizing after 69 minutes and then Shavy Babicka blazed over from close range a minute later when he should have hit the target.
The win was a confidence boost for Luis Enrique’s side ahead of next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at Bayern Munich.
PSG lies in 25th place in the 36-team Champions League table with one win in four matches and outside the playoff spots.
Monaco beats Brest: The win came immediately after second-placed Monaco beaten Brest 3-2 to briefly close the gap at the top to three points.
Brest, which faces Barcelona next week in the Champions League, turned in another inconsistent French league performance and not the sparkling form it has shown in Europe.
Brest has struggled in Ligue 1, where it remains 12th, but shone with three wins from four in its first ever Champions League campaign.
It was behind after just five minutes on Friday when Maghnes Akliouche scored with a superb airborne volley, and 2-0 down after 24 minutes thanks to Aleksandr Golovin.
The Russian striker seized on a poor pass just outside the Brest penalty area and his low shot was perfectly placed to sneak in off the post and give him his first goal in nine league appearances.
On-loan Brighton striker Abdallah Sima used his 1.88-meter frame to outjump the Monaco defense four minutes into the second half and cut the deficit but Akliouche restored Monaco’s two-goal cushion when he brilliantly finished a quick counterattack in stoppage time.
Ludovic Ajorque got a second for Brest in the sixth minute of added time but it was not enough in a second half most notable for the red card shown to Brest coach Éric Roy.