Toni Kroos: The German football phenomenon who's won everything but the Ballon d'Or
Toni Kroos, born on January 4, 1990 in Greifswald, is one of the most influential figures in international football. Although he has celebrated numerous triumphs in his career, Toni Kroos is still missing one prize: the Ballon d' Or .
He has been playing for the Spanish giants Real Madrid since 2014, the same year he won the World Cup with Germany in Brazil. In this gallery, we look at his other achievements.
His dominance in central midfield is widely recognized. He particularly stands out because he was able to collect five Champions League trophies, four with the Madrilenians and one with Bayern Munich.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo has been able to repeat this feat with different clubs. Not bad company to keep.
Kroos has also won the German and Spanish championships three times and won the FIFA Club World Cup six times.
In 2014, he left Bayern Munich and moved to Spain to join Real Madrid after failing to reach an agreement with Bayern over a contract extension. The transfer cost around 30 million euros and Kroos tied himself to the club for six years.
He quickly established himself in the team and shortly afterwards celebrated the club's world championship title in Morocco. While the 2015/16 season was disappointing in the league and cup, Real Madrid still managed to win the Champions League.
In 2016, Kroos decided to extend his contract until 2022. In the following 2016/17 season he led Real Madrid back to the Spanish championship after a dry spell and was an important player despite missing time with injury.
In the Champions League, Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich and Juventus. Although the 2017/18 league season didn't go well, they were able to beat Liverpool in the Champions League.
Internationally, Kroos has been a constant in Germany's midfield, his crowning achievement was performance during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, especially in the memorable 7-1 win against the hosts.
He was also always present at the 2016 European Championships in France and made it to the semi-finals. His impressive performances were recognized by being named to the “Team of the Tournament”.
Despite all his successes, there is one award that has eluded him: the Ballon d'Or. According to a report from Bild.de, Joselu, his teammate at Real Madrid, considers this a major oversight.
In an interview with "AS", Joselu emphasized that in his opinion Kroos had already earned the Ballon d'Or five times. He praised Kroos for his remarkable style of play, his ball control and his calmness on the pitch, and emphasized how privileged he feels to play with him.