GOODBYE, TONI! Real Madrid’s Emotional Tribute to Legendary Midfielder Toni Kroos Will Leave You in Tears

“Get ready to be moved to tears by Real Madrid’s heartwarming tribute to the one and only Toni Kroos!

As the German midfielder bids farewell to the club, Los Blancos have released a poignant video celebrating his incredible journey. From his earliest days at the Santiago Bernabéu to his most triumphant moments on the pitch, this emotional tribute will leave you breathless.

Witness Toni’s unwavering dedication, his unrelenting passion, and his unforgettable contributions to the team. Relive the magic of his iconic goals, his precision passing, and his unwavering leadership.

As the video takes you on a journey through Toni’s remarkable career, you’ll be reminded of the countless memories he’s created, the tears of joy he’s brought to fans’ eyes, and the indelible mark he’s left on the world of football.

So, grab your tissues and get ready to say goodbye to a true Real Madrid legend. This video will leave you crying tears of joy, gratitude, and admiration for the one and only Toni Kroos.”

Let me know if you’d like me to make any further adjustments!

I was sitting in my family home the night before the news about Toni Kroos’ retirement came out — thinking about a world without Kroos as a Real Madridplayer, and how I don’t have to worry about that for another season because it all seemed like he was probably going to stay. And then, the next morning, I was reading about the most decorated players of all time and I said to myself, “Kroos could come very close to the top of that list since he will probably be around for another year.”

Boy, was I wrong.

Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, Sergio Ramos in 2021, Marcelo, Casemiro and Gareth Bale in 2022, Karim Benzema in 2023, and now Kroos in 2024, among others. The incredible team from the three-peat era is slowly (and, in ways, quickly) disintegrating. Real Madrid are the most successful club in football history, but even they are not an exception to heartbreaks like this. 

This club is not just about winning; It’s not this emotionless, robotic club that just cares about titles and victories and goes by without culture, love and respect. It’s merely the opposite: There is this unique connection with their legends because of the respect they garner by the numerous times they save the club from elimination through the skin of their teeth. There is so much more to it. Toni Kroos is the personification of all that, and is also an example of how the club sees itself in the mirror: A born winner who always remains classy, but very well knows is loved.

This article won’t go into the well-documented statistics that make Kroos one of the best midfielders to ever play the game, as well as the single greatest passer of all time. What it will go into is the impact it has had on the fanbase and the club, from an eye-test point of view, and mainly from an emotional point of view.

The news broke about 10 minutes before I started writing this tribute. It kind of broke me as well. It usually makes me sad when a club legend announces their departure, but this seemed a bit premature. This does not seem real, but at the same time, it feels more real from the get-go than any of the departures I have seen as a Real Madrid fan. Every single time, it took some time for me to actually realise that a certain player is leaving. With Kroos, it happened instantly: a few tears rolled down my eyes – a concept that has, to an extent, gone away in relation to football as I have gotten older and taken up this profession. 

It immediately hit me that the last game that Kroos would play for this club would be his seventh Champions League final, winning which would make him the epitome of ‘going out on top’, something he always wanted.

“I’m definitely not a player who plays until 38,” said Kroos in 2020. “I still have a three-and-a-half-year contract until summer 2023. Then I will be 33. It won’t be long then until the end of my career.”

He has always said it. He always said he would not play till his late 30s, because he wants to leave on a high. He also said something similar, in the official announcement about his departure: “I know I could have played for longer, but I did not want to be a bench player.

“This season has been one of my best ones. I want you [all] to remember me as I am now.”

It makes the most sense for him to leave on this note, but the fan in me says it makes no sense at all. Rarely have I ever seen a player retire from football after having his best season as a football player, but I guess that is what Kroos wanted to change.

It is difficult to imagine a Real Madrid team without Kroos. He has been the spine of this team for a decade, and it is difficult to see how he is replaced, because he cannot be replaced. Each time Real Madrid were in trouble, each time they felt some sort of pressure from the opponents, they would always look for Kroos to have all the answers, and he effortlessly obliged – he’d always have the answer, without exception. 

It is way more difficult to drop 8/10 performances week in and week out than to have a few 10/10s over the course of the season, but Kroos used somehow to do both of those at the same time. He is one of the most ‘perfect’ perfectionists I have seen in my life.

The calmness he shows on the pitch is the same calmness he has shown off it – so much so that it starts exuberating to the rest of the team. It would always blow my mind listening to other players’ detailed monologues about how relaxed the German was before a Champions League final, playing cards and having a laugh with Luka Modric and Casemiro. I had heard it about a million times, but it never failed to baffle me.

One thing about Kroos that is also worth sharing is that while he is always calm, he makes sure to let his passion for Real Madrid show. Winning the big games, scoring a late winner, getting an important assist, or winning a penalty shootout – Kroos would always be among the players who are celebrating the loudest. He loved Real Madrid, and is weaved from the same cloth as the biggest legends of the club. He personifies and embodies what the club stands for.

I remember the moment I found out that Kroos was joining Real Madrid – I had just come back from school, the day after the 2014 FIFA World Cup final, and I saw what he said after the game: “We’ve finished the World Cup in the best way possible. Now I’m going to Madrid, so that’s two dreams achieved.” I remember how happy that made me, because even then, even when I was 12 years old, I knew he’d be great.

I have always said that Modric is my favourite player of all time, but Kroos is sitting alongside him at that table. Speaking of Modric, the bond that these two shared for 10 years will be dearly missed, it truly is an all-time great partnership. What’s even sadder is that next year, I could be writing the same type of piece on the other half of this great partnership. I was preparing myself for that, actually – I always thought Modric would be the one to leave first, and I kept telling myself that over the course of the season. I did not, for one second, think that this article would be about Kroos.

It is no secret that Real Madrid have always said goodbye to their legends at the right time; they have always let them go when it was the right time to let them go – something that proves that Kroos, at the end of the day, is Real Madrid through and through, because he is doing the exact same thing to Real Madrid.

Kroos will be missed by anyone who loves Real Madrid and anyone who loves football. He is one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and is still somehow the most underrated midfielder of all time. Real Madrid will have a “super team” next season, but there would still be a huge void that Kroos’ irreplaceability will leave, and I am not sure how you fill that.

💜 #GraciasKroos 💜 pic.twitter.com/JzEy9jK7W7

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) May 21, 2024