Toni Kroos hints at potential Real Madrid return

Former Real Madrid midfield maestro Toni Kroos has expressed openness to returning to the Santiago Bernabeu in the future to function in one capacity or the other, Soccernet.football reports.

Kroos retired at the end of last season, concluding his illustrious career with 465 appearances for Madrid. His final game was a Champions League triumph over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Following Germany’s elimination by eventual champions Spain at Euro 2024 in May, the 34-year-old called time on his participation in competitive football.

However, on the latest episode of Einfach mal Luppen, the podcast he co-hosts with his brother Felix, the 2014 World Cup winner shared his willingness to rejoin Real Madrid in a different capacity.

“Now I’m fully occupied with my projects, but given the closeness with Madrid, my relationship at Madrid, I would never rule out doing something at the club at some point in the future,” he teased.

Kroos placed ninth in this year’s Ballon d’Or and expressed his support for his former teammate Vinicius Junior, who finished as the runner-up to Rodri, praising the Brazilian as “the best” on social media platform X.

Although Kroos still keeps an eye on his former club, the newly retired professional cautioned that a return to the Bernabeu might not happen just yet.

“To appear now in the public environment of the club?” Kroos asked himself. “The first thing I would say is no, no matter how close I feel to the club.

“But I’m not saying I’m not going to do or have anything to do with Real again in my life, of course I wouldn’t rule it out. In what role I can’t know, or whether the club can imagine it or not.”