Real Madrid midfielder announces retirement plans

After 17 goals in 108 games for Germany, plus a whole European Championship to go and ten years at Real Madrid, midfielder Toni Kroos has revealed that he will retire this summer at the end of the European championship on his home soil.

This means that the midfielder’s final game for the Los Blancos will be the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in Wembley on June 1.

Should the German national team get to the final of the Euros, he could also be bowing out from football in the Euro finals.

Kroos made the retirement plans public on Tuesday via a social media post stating that Real Madrid is and will be his last club. 

“July 17, 2014 – the day of my presentation at Real Madrid, the day that changed my life. My life as a footballer – but especially as a person. It was the start of a new chapter at the biggest club in the world. After 10 years, at the end of the season, this chapter comes to an end. I will never forget that insolent successful time! I would particularly like to thank everyone that welcomed me with an open heart and trusted me. But especially I would like to thank you, dear Madridistas, for your affection and your love from the first day until the last one. At the same time this decision means that my career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship”. He posted.

He went on to say that he is happy and proud and has found the right timing for the decision, as his ambition was always to finish his career at the peak of his performance level. 

The 34-year-old won everything in football, including the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the UEFA Champions League with both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.