Behind Toni Kroos's retirement decision:

With no regrets about leaving football at the height of his career, Toni Kroos now leads a full and busy life.

Kroos photographed during an interview with El Pais, Spain, on the anniversary of his retirement.

Over a year has passed since 21/5/2024, the day Toni Kroos, still at the peak of his career, announced his retirement. In Spain, Kroos's decision still resonates: heartbreak for Real Madrid fans, less so for neutrals, and joy for his detractors. The departure of one of the best central midfielders in recent years sparked debate not just among football fans, but across society: why would an athlete retire at their peak? How can a top sports star, seemingly in a moment, abandon the spotlight, the fans' love, and the media's praise?

To assume Kroos made this decision "in a moment" is to misunderstand him. On 25/5/2024, after months of deliberation, he played his last match at the Santiago Bernabeu, an unremarkable 0-0 draw against Real Betis, followed by teammates' cheers and fans' applause.

"I thought about this for many months, it wasn't a case of waking up one morning and saying, 'I have to retire!'", Kroos told El Pais's Sunday supplement, leaning back on a sofa in a luxury hotel along Madrid's Castellana avenue. "No, I thought about it very carefully, for a long time. A year earlier, I also considered retiring, but I decided to extend my contract with Real for another year. The club tried hard to persuade me to stay, but they couldn't sway me. I decided to leave at the top, and luckily, I did it."

Leaving at the top, Kroos explained, meant achieving what he did in his final season with Real: winning LaLiga and the Champions League. A perfect ending – a privilege not many players enjoy – rather than waiting for decline.

"Leaving at the top is the best thing," Kroos explained. "You leave with a great feeling because you made the decision yourself. Before someone benches me because I'm not good enough or as important to the team as I used to be, I wanted to stop myself. I didn't want the coach, my family, or my body to decide when I retire."

Kroos is celebrated by his teammates after his last match for Real Madrid, on 25/5/2024 at the Bernabeu stadium, Madrid, Spain. Photo: Reuters

Kroos is celebrated by his teammates after his last match for Real Madrid, on 25/5/2024 at the Bernabeu stadium, Madrid, Spain. Photo: Reuters

At the time, Kroos was 34, but experts believed his playing style and position allowed him to continue for another two to three years. "But you can't play until you're 40," Kroos countered. "You have to stop before your body tells you to."

He elaborated: "Of course, it wasn't an easy decision. I was giving up something I'd done since I was 6. Everything in my life revolved around football: what I ate, when I ate, when I woke up, time with family, trips... everything. So, it was a big change. If I'd stopped after two or three more years, it would have felt the same, but my intention was to finish at the highest possible level. Did I feel like I could play for two or three more years? Yes. But did I think I had to? No."

From the outside, it seems – beyond the obvious privileges of a luxurious life – the training, matches, recovery, domestic and international tournaments, travel, press conferences, and promotional events are unbearable for a modern football star. This hectic life seemingly leaves them no time to think about anything but... football. But again, this misrepresents Kroos, who seems made of different stuff, a material for thinking while acting, or rather, thinking before acting.

"It depends on each person's personality, but it's true that I always think a lot, always take time to think, no matter how high the pace and pressure," Kroos stated. "And above all, I always enjoy football. I enjoy every day, always. I've kept the mindset since I was 6 that football is a game, and more importantly, football is just football. That mindset helps me a lot when results don't go my way. Is there pressure playing for Real? Of course, but I always maintained the notion that it's just a game. And I had a lot of fun with that game. That's what matters."

Since Kroos's departure, Real has shown signs of decline. Without the precise "German clock" – with 2,242 successful passes out of 2,368 in the 2023-2024 season – Real endured a disappointing year in both performance and results, despite an abundance of strikers, including the blockbuster signing of Kylian Mbappe. In 10 years at the Santiago Bernabeu, Kroos helped Real amass 23 titles: five Champions Leagues, four LaLigas, one Copa del Rey, four Spanish Super Cups, four European Super Cups, and five FIFA Club World Cups. Suddenly, they experienced a trophyless season and most recently, a heavy defeat against PSG in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

"Clearly, and without a doubt, the central midfield position is crucial in modern football," Kroos calmly stated. "Look at Man City after Rodri's injury. A good central midfielder or defensive midfielder is only remembered... when they're not there. When they're present, everything seems normal, everything flows, and the forwards can focus on deciding the game. Since retiring, I've become a Real Madrid fan, which is quite normal after 10 years here. And from what I see, like any other fan, last season wasn't easy. People say, 'Oh, because Toni Kroos isn't there anymore!' But I hope everything goes well and they stop saying that."

Not long ago, in an interview with El Pais, current Ballon d'Or winner Rodri lamented the pressure sports media and social networks exert on football players in Spain. He asserted that it's not the same in other countries.

When asked about this and whether that pressure influenced his retirement decision, Kroos said: "Obviously, in Spain, there's a great passion for football, and journalists and fans put enormous pressure on players. It's part of the sport, and maybe the media pressure in Spain is a bit greater, but it exists in Germany too, and I guess in other countries as well."

"Is the criticism unfair? Sometimes, yes, and if you're not mentally strong enough, the impact becomes negative. But sometimes the opposite happens, when the media praises you excessively, unrealistically. You play three good games, and suddenly you're the best in the world. But if you slump, you're considered the worst. It's not like that in reality. If you accept that, you'll live more peacefully. Some players read or hear those things and just laugh, but others dwell on it because they worry about their image."

"In short, there are good players and bad players, just as there are good journalists and not-so-good journalists. What a top athlete needs to understand is that criticism is never personal. Journalists are just doing the job their bosses ask them to do, and what they care about is sales," Kroos concluded.

Despite ending his football journey, Kroos seems even busier. After retiring, he decided to stay north of Madrid with his family – his wife Jessica Farber, whom he met on holiday in Fuerteventura in their early twenties, and their three children Amelie, Fin, and Leon. When Kroos told his family about his decision, his son Leon cried a lot, he recounted.

Kroos maintains a daily exercise routine, particularly enjoying tennis; he and his brother Felix Kroos, also a former player in Germany, run a football podcast called ‘Einfach mal Luppen’. He also owns the Toni Kroos Academy in Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, for children and teenagers, with an online version where Kroos himself teaches not only football but also values through sport.

Furthermore, in Germany, since 2015, Kroos has headed the Toni Kroos Foundation (Toni Kroos Stiftung), managed by his wife, which supports seriously ill children from disadvantaged families by funding therapies and treatments. The foundation raises funds through galas and events.

"We help seriously ill children and their families, trying to fulfill their dreams, which sometimes, sadly, are their last wishes," Kroos confided. "We provide financial support to families struggling to afford medication, or help them in their daily lives with the children. After 10 years, I'm truly happy and proud to have helped many families with things that we might see as small, but are very important to them."

Besides the humanitarian aspect, working at the foundation has taught Kroos a valuable lesson, as he seriously shared: "All of this helps me realize that my life is not real life. Top athletes live in a different world, almost in a bubble. Helping these people helps me see things more realistically. I think people with influence and the ability to help, like famous players, should do it. We should live responsibly."

Kroos is also involved in business and branding. He has a stake in the agency Sports 360 and in 2021 founded the real estate company Kroos Properties XXI, based in Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid. In fashion, the 2014 World Cup winner with Germany has collaborated with Adidas for many years – throughout his time at Real, he almost exclusively wore the Adidas Adipure11 Pro 2 boots. He now also works with Marc O’Polo, a Swedish premium casual fashion brand.

10 beautiful goals by Kroos.

Kroos admitted his interest in fashion came late: "These things usually come with age, right? When you're 15 or 16, you don't care about them. At least in my time, we didn't pay attention. But as you grow up, you start paying more attention to your appearance. I've always liked the casual style, and this brand's style suits me well. I wore their clothes before collaborating, so when they contacted me, I thought, great, we share the same view on style, so I don't have to change how I dress to work with them."

When asked whether Kroos plays like the person he is, whether his playing life and personal life run on parallel paths, his first reaction was a smile of both surprise and excitement. His second reaction was a sincere admission: "Maybe, maybe... yes, I think there are similarities in my personality both on and off the pitch. I like to maintain a positive mindset both on and off the field to feel stable."

"Football is a crazy sport, with successes and mistakes, and to maintain order, you need to believe in certain things, whether things are good or bad, and believe in yourself. You can have good or bad days, but if you define the boundaries clearly, you'll gain confidence and transmit it to your teammates. I always knew that in my position, I had to bring reassurance to those playing alongside me. It's the same in my personal life, because I'm not just a player, but also a husband and a father. Actually, I'm always more emotional off the pitch."

Hoang Thong (adapted from El Pais Semanal)

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