Toni Kroos and Carlo Ancelotti have openly spoken about the prospect of retiring at the end of the season, with the German’s contract up in the summer.
The Italian has been quite positive on the matter stating that Kroos is ‘very clear’ about it, but recent weeks have seen a lingering doubt return again.
Kroos is only 33, which generally would be considered on the younger side for retirement for an elite talent, especially next to a certain Luka Modric. However Real Madrid have a policy of only offering one-year deals to their players over 30, which plays into Kroos’ decision-making process.
The key factor in any decision will be that he is a guaranteed starter in the big games for next season, otherwise he might hang up his boots. That looked a foregone conclusion after Kroos returned to his best level before the World Cup, but recent weeks have seen him dip.
Combined with his dip has been the rise in form from Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos, with Aurelien Tchouameni yet to come back. Ceballos has been performing better than Kroos of late and if Ancelotti drops him, then it could make up the German’s mind.
Frederic Hermel reflected on Ancelotti’s words in Diario AS, the Italian claiming that Los Blancos are ‘in a period of transition between the veterans and the youngsters’. Clearly Kroos does not want to find himself on the wrong side of that transition.
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