Real Madrid can thank Bayern Munich’s blatant disrespect for Toni Kroos

David Alaba was one of Real Madrid’s two goal-scoring heroes in the most recent Clasico, and Los Blancos can absolutely thank Bayern Munich for allowing him to walk for free. He has fit Real perfectly. But he is not the first player to leave Bayern due to a contractual issue. In fact, his circumstances are not even the most interesting. Because Toni Kroos joined Real in 2014 for just 25 million euros in one of the best transfers of the last decade, as a result of Die Roten’s executives disrespecting his worth.

Kroos has been one of the best midfielders of his generation at Real Madrid. Nobody can pass the football quite like Kroos. Nobody can control matches like him either. He is the key to Los Blancos. The man who makes everything tick with his reading of the game on the ball and his unflappable composure. On a team of superstars, Kroos was a rock in Real’s three-peat.

Yet Bayern did not value this man before he went on to spread his wings and achieve success at Real even greater than what the Bundesliga’s record champions have.

In Bild am Sonntag, via @iMiaSanMia on Twitter, Kroos’ agent Volker Struth revealed the details behind his client signing with Real Madrid. Initially, he had a contract with Manchester United until David Moyes was sacked. But before that, his decision to leave the legendary club of Germany was seemingly the result of Bayern’s callous valuation of the world-class center midfielder.

Bayern offered Toni Kroos 35 percent less than what he wanted

Struth says that he was negotiating with Bayern in September, and they lowballed him. They were only going to offer Kroos six million euros per year, which is a laughable contract offer. Kroos was looking for 10 million euros per year, which is in line for a top-level midfielder.

A couple of months later, then-Bayern CEO and former legendary forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge approached Struth with an improved offer, which he said was a token of the club’s “appreciation” for the up-and-coming superstar.

And what was this increased offer from the initial six million euros per year?

6.5 million euros per year.

Bayern’s CEO’s generous raise at the bargaining table was 500,000 euros per year.

Absolutely laughable.

Struth made it clear to Die Roten that his client would not accept anything less than 10 million euros. He then says that Uli Hoeness later told Kroos on the way to the locker room to tell his agent that he would never receive 10 million euros from the Bavarian giants.

And that was that. The decision was made. If Bayern were not going to pay Kroos his worth and were going to try to play these disrespectful mind games with him, Struth would look at the other powerhouse clubs in European football.

Losing Toni Kroos was a rare misstep by Bayern

Though some Bayern fans will say “good riddance” and try to act as if Leon Goretzka, for example, is the better midfielder, the reality is that most fans understand this treatment of Kroos was a mistake. And Kroos has the Champions League titles, the ultimate goal of any of the traditional powers of European football, to prove it. For a club that is run as competently as any in the world, the way they lost Kroos stands out as a very puzzling display of incompetence. A miscalculation rooted in arrogance, perhaps.

To this day, Hoeness still can’t help but disrespect Kroos. He will say ludicrously false things to the media. Kroos was the best player for Germany in the Euros and has the respect of every current player and manager, yet Hoeness wants you to think the game has passed him by and that he can only pass sideways. 

None of this fazes Kroos. He knows what he has accomplished and what he is capable of. Hoeness’ bitterness is perhaps him telling on himself. It is the admission of an arrogant, wealthy man that he has made a mistake, as his ego renders him incapable of humbly stating this and praising Kroos. Instead, he must remain petty, all these years later.

Bayern’s disrespect, Bayern’s loss, was Real’s gain. Of course, Bayern’s incredible success domestically and their treble triumph in 2019-2020 under Hansi Flick mean that any regret on their end is limited. On some level, though, you can’t help but think it hurts them to see how Kroos left and has succeeded in Madrid. Especially when you put together Hoeness’ words in 2013-2014 and now in 2021.

Of course, it’s all water under a bridge now for Kroos. Real Madrid couldn’t be happier with how these events unfolded behind the scenes. I wonder if Florentino Perez has sent Rummenigge or Hoeness a “Thank You” card. The three-peat, as we know, would not have been possible without Kroos, and, by extension, the two institutional pillars of Bayern.