Jose Mourinho joked that following Real Madrid’s most recent Champions League final victory against Borussia Dortmund, UEFA should probably delay Toni Kroos’ retirement.
Real Madrid claimed a 2-0 victory over Dortmund at Wembley on Saturday night, with second half goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior, to win their 15th European championship. A game that would be Toni Kroos’ last for club while he will be hanging his boots after this summer’s Euros.
He was given a standing ovation when he was replaced near the end of the game, and he seemed genuinely moved by the supportive crowd’s reaction. Mourinho urged UEFA to intervene and prevent Kroos from hanging up his boots while still playing at his best in a statement made on TNT Sports.
Mourinho makes Toni Kroos jibe
The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager joked: “It should be forbidden. FIFA and UEFA, they have so many rules and decisions. Make a decision and stop the guy from retiring!”
Following the win, Kroos dove headfirst into a mass of happy fans, commemorating Real Madrid’s ongoing supremacy in Europe. With this victory, he solidified his legacy in the company of legendary players like Nacho, Dani Carvajal, and Luka Modric, who have all already won six Champions League championships.
When CBS Sports questioned Kroos about his intention to retire prior to the championship game, he quickly replied, “No, it’s done. I make a decision and that’s that.”
Over the course of a decade, the 34-year-old has amassed an astounding 464 appearances for Real Madrid, scoring 28 goals and dishing out 98 assists. Being recognised as one of the team’s all-time great midfielders, he will always be remembered for his dynamic relationship with Modric.
Before the game at Wembley, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti paid tribute to Kroos, saying, “His decision to go is the decision of a great, a decision of character.” We have been fortunate to have a legendary football player here with us as we bid him farewell.
“He is a great midfielder with huge quality and fantastic character, with little ego, who always played for the team. We have been lucky to have him for 10 years. Toni could close his career with a Champions League, and at an individual level he deserves it, but his career doesn’t need another Champions League”.
“He has been a fantastic player for 10 years, he had made history with Real Madrid and in world football.”
In 2014, Kroos came dangerously close to joining Manchester United, and if Louis van Gaal hadn’t taken over for David Moyes, it seems likely he would have.
Speaking in 2022, Kroos said: “I knew beforehand that United wanted me. Moyes absolutely underlined that. It was a really nice afternoon with very pleasant people. We talked a lot about United’s football plan, which convinced me”.
“But we also got to know each other as people. We knew quite a bit about the Moyes family afterwards. We talked about how we lived and how we all imagined life as a family. In the end we broke up to do it. So we agreed verbally”.
“The next step should be to look at everything on the spot in Manchester. The move would not have been that complicated – after all, we only had one child at the time, seven months old. It would all have worked.”
