Tonis Kroos has surprisingly announced that he will retire at the age of 34. The Real Madrid and Germany midfielder will play his final games for the Blancos, including the UEFA Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 and then the UEFA European Championship 2024 with his national team before retiring.
Kroos published the news on social media and spoke to Real Madrid fans.
“I would especially like to thank everyone who received me with an open heart and trusted me. But above all, I would like to thank you, dear Madridistas, for your affection and your love from the first to the last day. This decision means that my career as an active footballer ends this summer after the European Championship. As I have always said: Real Madrid is and will be my last club. I am happy and proud that in my mind I have found the right timing for my decision and that I am there myself My ambition was always to complete my career at the peak of my performance level. From now on there is only one guiding thought: a por la 15!!!
The German started his career at Bayern Munich, where he played from 2007 to 2014 on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in 2009, before joining the Spanish giants in the summer of 2014, where he became one of the faces of an incredible winning cycle. At Bayern, Kroos won three Bundesliga titles, three DFB Pokal, one German Super Cup, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one Club's World Cup. At Real he won four LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, four Spanish Super Cups, four Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and five Club World Cups.
In addition to this incredible career, he also won the FIFA World Cup with the German national team in 2014. In 728 games during his career, he scored 67 goals in all competitions, plus 108 games played with Germany where he scored 17 goals so far. After announcing his retirement from international football in 2021, he made his comeback in March 2024 after being approached and persuaded by German manager Julian Nagelsmann. The UEFA Euro 2024 marks his final appearances as a footballer.
