Stalwart German midfielder Toni Kroos has expressed his loyalty towards Real Madrid, saying that he would not leave the club unless he was forced to do so.
Kroos laid bare his desires to retire at the Los Blancos after a glittering career at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu over the last eight years, during which he has won three league titles and four UEFA Champions League titles, and has also established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of this generation. The World Cup winner, who is now 32, is gunning for a contract extension in a bid to stay at the Spanish capital, after consistently producing top-tier performances for the better part of a decade.
He has had a wildly successful career so far even apart from his time at the defending La Liga champions, winning the coveted World Cup with Germany in 2014, and also being one of Bayern Munchen’s prized midfielders before his departure from the club in 2014/15.
Kroos won his first UEFA Champions League title with Bayern in 2013, as the Bavarians beat arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in an extremely tense and closely contested final. Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery were outstanding in the tournament, as Bayern won the Champions League after their winning campaign at the turn of the millennium.
The player is gunning for a contract extension at Real Madrid and wants to begin negotiations in early 2023, after the completion of the World Cup, which ends in late December.
“I’m very good, I feel good physically and I’m super happy. During the break I’m going to think about what’s going to happen and little by little I’ll decide what I’m going to do. I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to change clubs. I’m going to retire here, the only thing I don’t know is when.”
the 32-year-old said.
As of now, Kroos is still an integral part of the Los Blanos set-up, as he and partner-in-crime Luka Modric continue to orchestrate games from the middle of the park. Manager Carlo Ancelotti also seems to have Kroos very much in his plans for the future, especially after his performance in the Champions League in the bygone season.