The new title of real Madrid in the Champions League (the 15th in its history) after the 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley had an extra seasoning with the exciting farewell of Toni Kroosthe German footballer who at 34 years He decided to end his successful career, which will conclude in the Euro Cup with his national team.
When the 85th minute was ticking in the legendary London stadium, the illuminated sign showed the number 8 leaving the playing field and in a sea of applause from the merengue fans, Kroos put his mouth on the Madrid shield and kissed it while looking at the crowd. Luka Modric, another of the most experienced players on the squad, greeted the great German midfielder for the last time, who feels like just another Spaniard.
Kroos He was one of the stars of the final and, although he did not win the award for best player of the match (it went to Dani Carvajal), he stood out and was even very close to scoring his goal. The former Bayern Munich footballer took two free kicks that deserved to end up inside the goal, but the celebration was frustrated by Gregor Kobel’s interventionswho sent the ball to the corner with a couple of saving blows.
Despite not being able to score a goal that would have crowned a perfect night, Toni was key with his punch by sending the assist for Carvajal’s goal that opened the scoring. The German sent a precise cross for the Real Madrid defender’s header to make it 1-0.
* The emotional departure of Toni Kroos when he was replaced by Luka Modric in the Champions League final
Once referee Slavko Vincic declared the end of the match, Kroos He was one of the many Real Madrid players who got excited and went to dedicate the victory to the fans who came to England. The celebration filled his eyes with tears as he was carried on a litter by his companions.
The player played, since his professional debut at Bayern Munich, 732 official matches in clubs, with 66 goals and 148 assists. Within the 35 titles What emerges from his 17-year career at the highest level is nothing less than one World Cup with Germany (Brazil 2014), 6 Champions Leagues, 5 European Super Cups and 6 Club World Cups. Another 16 domestic achievements are attached to the team’s jerseys. Bayer Munich (3 Bundesliga, 3 German Cup and 1 German Super Cup) and real Madrid (4 Spanish leagues, 4 Spanish Super Cup and 1 Copa del Rey).
With this new star stamped, Kroos climbed to eighth place in the world ranking of the players who won the most titles in their career. The German shares the privileged step alongside Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami), Neymar (Al Hilal) and Vitor Baia (retired). Furthermore, if he manages to win the European Championship with Germany next month, he would reach his 36th cup and would be on par with Karim Benzmá (Al Ittihad), David Alaba (Real Madrid), Ryan Giggs and Kenny Dalglish (retired) .
THE RANKING OF THE MOST WINNING FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN HISTORY
1- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami): 44
2- Dani Alves: 43
3- Andrés Iniesta (Emirates Club): 40
4- Hossam Hassan (Retired): 39
5- Gerard Piqué (Retired): 38
6- Maxwell and Ibrahim Hassan (Retired): 37
7- Karim Benzmá (Al Ittihad), David Alaba (Real Madrid), Ryan Giggs and Kenny Dalglish (Retired): 36
8- Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami), Neymar (Al Hilal) and Vitor Baia (Retired): 35
9- Marquinhos (PSG) and Ángel Di María (Benfica): 34
10- Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Thiago Silva (Fluminense) and Xavi Hernández (Retired): 33.
