When Real Madrid signed Toni Kroos, the consensus was that the club had pulled off a great move. The German midfielder had been brilliant for Bayern Munich and was expected to do well for Los Blancos as well. Not many people could have foreseen how well he would go on to do with the Spanish giants though.
Kroos has been without question one of the best midfielders in the world during that period of time. And he formed one of the best midfield trios ever, alongside Luka Modric and Casemiro, during his time at Real Madrid, which produced four Champions League trophies for the club.
One more player that was instrumental in three of those four Champions League triumphs and had built quite the partnership on the pitch with Kroos is the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo. And it is pretty clear that the German midfielder still has a lot of love and respect for his former teammate.
As reported by Marca, Kroos said about the Portuguese superstar:
"“He didn’t reach the top because his name is Cristiano Ronaldo, but because he spends an incredible amount of time working. He is an absolute workhorse and that is the only way to get there.”"
Kroos makes brilliant claim about former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo
It is a shame that we could not see more of Kroos and Ronaldo together in the royal white jersey of Real Madrid.
Ronaldo would end up leaving the club in 2018 in order to join Juventus, after achieving almost everything that was there to achieve at Real Madrid.
One has to admit though that since then, his career has pretty much gone downhill. He has never won another Ballon d’Or, and would end up leaving Juventus for Manchester United last summer.
There, his side failed to even qualify for the Champions League and as a result, Ronaldo will be playing Europa League football this season. On top of that, at the moment, he does not even seem like a regular starter for the Red Devils. It has been quite the downfall for one of the greatest ever since leaving Real Madrid.