Toni Kroos

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Kroos began his senior club career at Bayern Munich, where he debuted at age 17 in 2007. He was used sparingly for Bayern and he went on loan to fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for 18 months, where he became a key contributor. He returned to his parent club in 2010. With Bayern, Kroos won three Bundesliga titles (including two consecutive titles), a UEFA Champions League, two DFB-Pokal trophies, and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season three times. In 2014, he joined Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be between €24 and €30 million. In Madrid, Kroos won twenty-two trophies, including four La Liga titles and five UEFA Champions League trophies, three of which he won consecutively from 2016 to 2018. He was named in the Champions League team of the season each time. He was named in the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 four times, UEFA Team of the Year three times, and the La Liga Team of the Season twice. He was named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2014 and German Footballer of the Year in 2018 and 2024. Kroos won the Golden Player award at the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the Golden Ball at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He made his senior debut for Germany in 2010, at age 20, and appeared in seven major tournaments. With 114 international matches for Germany, Kroos is one of the top ten most capped German players. Kroos helped Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he was top assister and named in the All-Star Team and Dream Team. At UEFA Euro 2016, he was named in the Team of the Tournament. In 2024, Kroos retired from professional football.

In Their Own Story

The Camp Nou lights hummed with anticipation as the giants clashed once more. On the pitch, the German number 8 stood calmly amidst the swirling chaos of Barcelona's press. With a single glance over his shoulder, he spotted a lane opening between the Catalan defenders that no one else could see. The ball left his foot with surgical precision, bypassing three opponents and landing perfectly at the feet of a striker sprinting into space. It was a moment of pure geometric beauty, a silent declaration that while he would never call this stadium home, he had mastered its rhythms better than most.

Reader's Guide

Kroos was born in Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany, on 4 January 1990. He was born in the last year of East Germany's existence, several weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall and nine months before German reunification. His mother Britta was an East German national badminton champion and his father Roland was also a footballer and at that time, he managed Hansa Rostock's youth team. He has a younger brother, Felix Kroos, who was also a professional footballer. During his youth, he was a mediocre student and spent a lot of time practicing football, however, he was well-behaved in class and well-liked among his peers at school. Kroos first played for local club Greifswalder SC, later transferring to the youth team of Hansa Rostock. Kroos moved to Bayern Munich's youth setup in 2006. For the 2007–08 season, at the age of 17, Kroos was promoted to Bayern's senior team. He made his debut for Bayern on 26 September 2007 in a 5–0 win against Energie Cottbus and twice assisting Miroslav Klose goals within 18 minutes of his appearance as a substitute. At the time of his debut, Kroos was the youngest player ever to represent Bayern in a professional match at 17 years, 265 days old, a record since broken by David Alaba in 2010. On 25 October, Kroos earned Bayern a valuable victory away to Red Star Belgrade on his UEFA Cup debut, coming on as a substitute in the 81st minute and providing an assist for Miroslav Klose and then scoring the winning goal, his first for the club, in stoppage time. He made his first start for the club in a 3–1 defeat away at VfB Stuttgart. Kroos ended his first season with 20 appearances for Bayern, including six starts. He also scored three goals in 12 appearances for Bayern Munich II in the Regionalliga Süd. Despite being selected to start in Bayern's opening 2008–09 Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV, Kroos appeared less frequently for die Roten during the first half of the 2008–09 season. On 5 November 2008, however, he made his UEFA Champions League debut as a 79th-minute substitute against Fiorentina in matchday four of the group stage. On 31 January 2009, Bayern allowed Kroos to join Bayer Leverkusen on an 18-month loan to gain first team experience. He made his debut on 28 February as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat against Hannover 96. On 12 April, he made his first Bundesliga start for Leverkusen, assisting the team

Did You Know?

• Kroos was born in East Germany several weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
• His mother Britta was an East German national badminton champion.
• He was the youngest player ever to represent Bayern Munich in a professional match at 17 years, 265 days, a record since broken by David Alaba.
• Kroos won the Golden Ball at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
• He is the second most decorated German footballer after Thomas Müller, with 34 trophies.