Toni Kroos has mostly been quiet these days since retiring when Real Madrid won their last trophies in the 2023/24 season, but he has occasionally offered sharp insights in his usual way of pulling no punches. And soon, he will be back in an official capacity at the Valdebebas in an advisory front office role to bring some much needed leadership to the club, as well as an eye to shape the future of an organization that is mired in controversy.
The German legend is never afraid to tell it like it is, and that is the case with Real Madrid’s flaws. Staring down a second straight season without a trophy, Real are directionless since Kroos left, and the new addition of Kylian Mbappe has been such a disaster that Madridistas are even wondering if Kroos escaped because he knew the Frenchman would destabilize things with his ego.
Furthering that notion is the shot Kroos seemed to take at Kylian Mbappe. Like everyone else, Kroos noticed how well Ousmane Dembele took his early substition by Luis Enrique in the 66th minute against Bayern Munich. Despite being the reigning Ballon d’Or winner who scored in the third minute, Dembele got hooked because he could not bring the physical level on defense that Enrique desired.
Ousmane Dembele exposed the Real Madrid stars
Instead of complaining or causing a stir, Dembele took the decision like a man, shook Enrique’s hand, and left the Allianz Arena without a fuss. And Kroos drew parallels with how Dembele behaved and how the Real Madrid stars have acted this season.
Kroos said, via Madrid Xtra, “Luis Enrique subbed out Dembélé, his best player, in the 65th minute of a UCL semi-final and NOBODY complained. He leaves, shakes his coach’s hand and sits on the bench cheering his teammates. There are some counter examples to this.”
While Toni Kroos is far from the only person to make this observation, he is the most pertinent for Real Madrid fans, given he played at the club and has the unique insight to criticize the current stars. And while he could have been talking about any number of players at the club – and not just the big stars either – we have seen him praise Vinicius Junior on social media and had a close relationship with the Brazilian during their time together winning Champions League.
Kroos and Kylian Mbappe, however, have no such relationship, and Kroos has occasionally been critical of the 2018 World Cup winner. Mbappe played for PSG and threw fits at Luis Enrique, and while Vinicius Jr. was not spotless this season to Xabi Alonso, Mbappe has had his issues with multiple coaches now. PSG continue to expose the problems in Real’s squad, and Kroos is noticing.
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