Toni Kroos, a German midfielder and former teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo, Tuesday annonced he would no longer be performing on the pitch after the end of Euro 2024, the player said in a social media post.
The 34-year-old Kroos joined Real Madrid in 2014 as a midfielder from Bayern Munich. The German is slated to be in action on May 25 against Real Betis and then the UEFA Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
Cristiano Ronaldo honoured his former teammate Toni Kroos in an Instagram Tuesday.
The post of 39-year-old Portuguese wrote: “[Thanks] for everything, Toni! What an honour to share the pitch with you. All the best for the future!”
Kroos was also in his national team when the Germans won the 2014 World Cup.
“My ambition was always to finish my career at the peak of my performance level,” Kroos said in a post on his Instagram account.
“I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it on my own.”
While the midfielder was with Real Madrid, he witnessed the Spanish club securing La Liga and the Champions League titles on four occasions.
The footballer appeared on the pitch for the first time under Bayern Munich’s banner in the Bundesliga at the age of 17 in September 2007. He was also playing when Bayern won the Champions League in 2013.
Kroos said that the day he signed for Real changed his life as a footballer but especially as a person and his “only thought now is to help Los Blancos to a 15th European Cup”.
