If I were to encapsulate in one name what a complete midfielder should be like, I would conveniently stretch that name to Toni Kroos.
He is one of the greatest midfield legends of Real Madrid, and there’s absolutely no reason to deny it. The impact he had during his time at the club, and the void felt in his absence, are both immense.
But the Kroos fan in me, and every Kroos fan around the world, will always carry a quiet discord with the German sniper: why did he have to leave and retire so early, at the age of 34, clearly when he still had so much football left in him?
Even during his final days in white, Kroos was toying with the best teams in the world. There was no sign, none, that he was nearing the physical decline usually associated with retirement.
Toni Kroos reveals the reason why he left Real Madrid the way he did
In an interview with El País Semanal, the German midfielder opened up about many things, but his answers about retirement made the biggest headlines.
When asked why he chose to leave at such a peak moment in his career, right after winning the Champions League, Kroos said:
“It's best to leave on a high note. You leave with a great feeling because you're the one who made the decision. And before someone benched me because I wasn't as good anymore or because I wasn't as important to the team as I was until the end… well, I preferred to leave myself. I wanted to avoid all that. Neither my coach, nor my family, nor my body were going to tell me when to retire.”
Kroos’s decision to leave “on a high note” may have agitated fans the most, but it was a decision he believed was best for him. And it does make sense, when you think about it.
What he said about preferring to leave before someone benched him is deeply mature. No player wants to become a liability or turn into a villain in the eyes of fans who once worshipped him. Kroos feared that possibility, and it’s okay that he did.
Yes, there was still so much football left in his boots. He was the best player in the recent legends game, still toying with opponents in that trademark Kroos fashion. But truth be told, there was little left for him to win.
He had already conquered everything with Real Madrid, other than that Ballon d'Or he never won. So, he chose to rest, and hang up his boots. That decision, in my view, deserves respect.
Something inside me will always resent him a little for not staying one more season. But honestly, there’s never a final time in that spiral. You always want what you love to stay a little longer, but it’s simply never enough.