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Real Madrid are still trying to find the best Toni Kroos replacement, despite the midfielder retiring over a year ago.
Kroos spent 10 years at the club and became the staple of their midfield.
The German international was questioned over his choice to retire, but the former player has remained pleased with his decision and even revealed why his timing was perfect.
What did Kroos say about his retirement?
Speaking to El País, Kroos opened up about his retirement, saying, "I spent several months thinking about this, I mean, I didn’t get out of bed one morning and suddenly say to myself: ‘You have to retire!’ No, I matured it very, very much.
"The previous year, I had already thought about retiring, but in the end, I decided to renew for another year with Real Madrid, who had insisted a lot.
"But that didn’t change my idea, which was always to retire like this, and luckily I succeeded."
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Kroos retired at the end of the 2023/24 season, which ensured the German international finished off his career with two more trophies.
He continued, "I wanted to retire at a very high level. I think it’s difficult to do better than I did in my last season with Real Madrid. I left after winning La Liga and the Champions League. Goodbye."
Kroos finished by revealing what the best thing about his timing was. He said, "The best thing is to leave it at the top. You leave with a great feeling because you are the one who has made the decision.
"Rather than reacting to being sent to the bench because I wasn’t that good anymore or because I wasn’t as important for the team, as I was until the end… I preferred to leave myself.
"I wanted to avoid all that. Neither my coach, nor my family, nor my body were going to tell me when to retire."
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