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Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid from Bayern Munich for £20m Toni Kroos joins Real Madrid from Bayern Munich for £20m
(about 9 hours later)
The German World Cup winner Toni Kroos has joined Real Madrid on a six-year deal for a fee in the region of £20m. Confidence is not in short supply if you are a German player these days so it was no surprise to hear Toni Kroos back his chances of forging a successful career at Real Madrid as he was announced by the reigning European champions on Thursday.
The club he is leaving, Bayern Munich, tweeted: “DONE DEAL: Toni Kroos will make an immediate switch to Real Madrid after the clubs reached an agreement.” After a flirtation with Manchester United at the end of last season when David Moyes was still at Old Trafford, the 24-year-old’s decison to reject the offer of a new contract with Bayern Munich has taken him to the Bernabéu instead in a deal thought to be worth around £20m.
“We thank Toni Kroos for his time in Munich,” said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern chief executive. “We have achieved great success with him here. We wish him and his family all the best in Madrid and with Real.” Perhaps it was the self-assurance that comes from leading your country to victory in the World Cup final four days previously but Kroos – who scored two goals in the 7-1 destruction of Brazil in the semi-finals – was clearly not overawed as he was presented in front of 8,000 fans before taking to the pitch wearing his new No8 shirt.
The 24-year-old, born in the old East Germany and one of the successes of this year’s World Cup finals, will reportedly earn £5.3m a year after tax. “I know that at this club you are expected to win trophies but I’m the right man for that because I’m used to winning,” said Kroos, who joins on a six-year deal. “I know this is the correct decision and I’m very proud to have made it. I cannot think of anything more wonderful than being here. This is the biggest club in the world. In 2013 I won the Champions League and in 2014 Real won it, and I hope we can win it again next year. I hope to be able to return the confidence this club has shown in me.”
Marca reported that Kroos will wear the No8 shirt for the European champions and will be presented to the Spanish public at 4pm. He added: “I like pressure, I have done ever since I started playing. In Bayern there is also only one option, to win. I’m here to win trophies and that’s what stimulates me.”
Rummenigge had confirmed on Tuesday that negotiations had opened with the Champions League winners. Kroos’s contract at Bayern had only a year to run and the player had been unsettled for some time, with Manchester United among his suitors. United’s pursuit of Kroos came to an end after the German reportedly held talks with Louis van Gaal before the World Cup but it is believed the lack of Champions League football at Old Trafford next season was a major factor in his decision. That will not be an issue at Real, who won their record 10th European crown last season by beating rivals Atlético Madrid.
After Germany’s World Cup victory, Kroos left for a holiday in Mallorca where he met up with his agent and announced his intention to leave for Madrid and finalise his deal. A product of Hansa Rostock’s youth system before moving to Bayern at the age of 15, Kroos has won three Bundesliga titles and three German Cups in addition to the Champions League and World Cup.
“This is a very young player but one with an incredible honours list,” said the Real president Florentino Pérez. “We weren’t surprised by his performances during the World Cup, they were just confirmation that we had chosen the right player.”
Turning to Kroos, he added: “The demands placed on you at Real Madrid are unlimited. You arrive at a club that has just won the European Cup but you have come here to make this club even greater.
“Madridistas always want more and you’ve come here to make this club even greater, and the fans are already dreaming about winning the 11th European Cup.”
Whether compatriot Sami Khedira is part of that challenge under Carlo Ancelotti remains to be seen, although the Germany midfielder’s agent has hinted that there could still be a future for him at the club after denying reports that Arsenal had a bid accepted. Chelsea are also rumoured to be interested in a player whose contract in Spain expires next summer.
Kroos said he had spoken to Khedira about Real but admitted his team-mate’s future has yet to be resolved. “He told me great things about Madrid and reaffirmed my thoughts,” he said. “But what happens in the future is up to him, not to me. It depends on him and Madrid.”
Real’s planning for next season has already seen them set up a deal to sign the Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Levante, with Diego López expected to leave.