FILE: On Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran, during their AFC Champions League soccer match, Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia reacts against Persepolis of Iran. Cristiano Ronaldo has drawn harsh criticism for what appeared to be an obscene gesture after Al Nassr defeated Al Shabab 3-2 in a Saudi Pro League game on Sunday, February 25, 2024. (File: AP; Photo: Vahid Salemi)
At Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, May 23, 2024 (5/23/24) Al Nassr takes on Al-Riyadh in a Saudi Arabian Pro League game.
This is a recent AP story on soccer:
MADRID (AP) — After attempting to win the Champions League for Real Madrid once more and guide Germany to the European Championship championship at home, Toni Kroos has announced his retirement from soccer.
Although it was a difficult choice, the 34-year-old German midfielder stated on Tuesday that the timing felt "somehow ideal."
On a podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Kroos stated, "I always wanted to leave at the peak of my ability and I know, and from a lot of cases you see, that it is not simple, that you may miss that moment in time very rapidly."
"I never wanted to feel like I would have to sit on the bench for another two or three years in the end, or that the team, the supporters, and the people in my immediate vicinity would have to tell me that is enough."
Madrid praised Kroos' accomplishments with the team and congratulated him.
Real Madrid released a statement saying, "To Nik Kroos, a player who will be remembered as one of our club's and the world's greatest football icons, we would like to offer our respect and affection."
In addition to winning one Champions League and three German league titles with Bayern Munich, Kroos enjoyed a remarkable career as a player for the German national team during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
On June 1st in London, Madrid will play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final. With Madrid, he won three European trophies in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. Along with Bayern, he won the Champions League in 2013.
With Madrid since 2014, Kroos has contributed to 22 championship victories, including four European Cups and four Spanish leagues. The midfielder played 463 games for the team, earning the title of "a vital player in one of the most successful periods of Real Madrid's 122-year history" from the organization.
Club president Florentino Pérez declared, "Toni Kroos is one of the greatest players in Real Madrid history and this club will always be his home."
"Because of his skill at the game and the fact he has given his all for our jersey, a steady example of the values of Real Madrid," Kroos will live on in every fan's heart, according to Madrid.
At the end of current season, Kroos' deal with Real Madrid was set to expire, and there had apparently been talks between the player and the club about an extension.
at February, Kroos said that he has granted coach Julian Nagelsmann's request to represent Germany at the 2024 European Championship. He has not competed for the national team in nearly three years, ever when Germany lost to England in the previous European Championship's second round.
Kroos was included in Germany's preliminary tournament team last week.
Just a few months prior, he had expressed uncertainty about the upcoming season's outcome.
"I have been thinking about it for a long time, and in the last few days, I have come to the realization that this season—this amazing season, my tenth with Real—is also my final season with Real," Kroos stated on Tuesday.
And anyone who has listened intently to me over the past few months or years will have heard me say at some point that quitting Real Madrid was my only feasible alternative. It is my final season with Real, so if you can piece one and one together, you know it ends this summer. No more football, no more Real Madrid.
