Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos
Kroos in 2021
Personal information
Full name Toni Kroos[1]
Date of birth (1990-01-04) 4 January 1990[2]
Place of birth Greifswald, East Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1997–2002 Greifswalder SC
2002–2006 Hansa Rostock
2006–2007 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Bayern Munich II 13 (4)
2007–2014 Bayern Munich 130 (13)
2009–2010 → Bayer Leverkusen (loan) 43 (10)
2014–2024 Real Madrid 306 (22)
Total 492 (49)
International career
2005–2007 Germany U17 34 (17)
2009 Germany U19 5 (3)
2008–2009 Germany U21 10 (2)
2010–2024 Germany 114 (17)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil
2010 South Africa
UEFA European Championship
2012 Poland–Ukraine
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2007 South Korea
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was known for his vision and pinpoint precision passing.[note 1] Kroos played mainly as a central midfielder and occasionally played as a defensive midfielder. He is (along with Thomas Müller) the most decorated German football player, having won 34 trophies over his 17 year career.[15]

Kroos began his senior club career at Bayern Munich, where he debuted at age 17 in 2007. He was used sparingly for Bayern and he went on loan to fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for 18 months, where he became a key contributor. He returned to his parent club in 2010. With Bayern, Kroos won three Bundesliga titles (including two consecutive titles), a UEFA Champions League, two DFB-Pokal trophies, and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season three times. In 2014, he joined Real Madrid for a €25 million transfer.[16]

In Madrid, Kroos won twenty-two trophies, including four La Liga titles and five UEFA Champions League trophies, three of which he won consecutively from 2016 to 2018. He was named in the Champions League team of the season each time. He was named in the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 four times, UEFA Team of the Year three times, and the La Liga Team of the Season twice.[17][18] He was named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2014 and German Footballer of the Year in 2018 and 2024.

Kroos won the Golden Player award at the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the Golden Ball at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He made his senior debut for Germany in 2010, at age 20, and appeared in seven major tournaments. With 114 international matches for Germany, Kroos is one of the top ten most capped German players. Kroos helped Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he was top assister and named in the All-Star Team and Dream Team. At UEFA Euro 2016, he was named in the Team of the Tournament. In 2024, Kroos retired from professional football.[19]

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 21 de septiembre de 2016, en Madrid" [Minutes of the Match held on 21 September 2016, in Madrid] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Kroos". Real Madrid CF. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  4. ^ "The Best Deep-Lying Playmakers of All Time". 90min. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Toni Kroos: The German Passing Master Who Conquered Europe". 90min. 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wilson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Scholes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Ryan, Danny (3 August 2022). "Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Santos: The greatest XIs in history". GiveMeSport. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Germany All-Time XI: Marco Reus, Michael Ballack Snubbed for Legendary Midfield Trio". Fox Sports. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Real Madrid's Toni Kroos: 'One of the Best Ever' - Ancelotti". ESPN. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Real Madrid: Is Toni Kroos One of the Best Midfielders of the 21st Century?". FourFourTwo. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Best Men's Footballers of the 21st Century Ranked". Goal. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Ranked: The 100 Best Players of the 21st Century". FourFourTwo. March 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Ranking the Top 25 Men's Soccer Players of the 21st Century". ESPN. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Toni Kroos kann in Wembley seinen 34. Profititel gewinnen – deutscher Rekord". Sky Sport. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid from Bayern Munich for £20m". The Guardian. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Kroos becomes first German player to win five champions leagues". DFB. 4 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Kroos becomes Club World Cup's most decorated player". Real Madrid CF. 22 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  19. ^ Sanderson, Tom. "Real Madrid Legend Toni Kroos Reveals Why He Decided To Retire". Forbes. Archived from the original on 1 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.


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