German creative midfielder player, Toni Kroos, has officially retired from football after Germany’s Euro 2024 campaign came to an end following a 2-1 defeat against Spain in the quarter-finals.
Kroos had before the game announced that the 2024 Euro tournament would be his last football tournament before retiring from the game that had brought him fame over the years.
The hosts of the summer tournament were dumped out on Friday after 120 minutes of their quarter-final game played in Stuttgart.
The highly technical match was less attractive during the first half but the atmosphere within the stadium changed when Dani Olmo put Spain ahead in the second half before Florian Wirtz sent the tie to extra-time with a late goal.
When penalties seemed to be looming, Mikel Merino, a substitute, came up with the winning goal in the final minute of extra-time.
The legendary midfielder, who spent the last 10 years at Real Madrid, announced in May that he would retire after the European Championships in his home country.
His nation enjoyed an exceptional tournament before their chances of silverware came crashing down following a defeat to Spain in the quarter-finals.
During Kroos’s immense career, the player has collated 34 honours for his club and country, but could not clinch the European trophy. His performances during the campaign prompted many to question whether Kroos had made the right decision to hang up his boots, but the German star has so far remained set in his decision to retire.
In a statement released barely two months before the tournament kicked off Kroos said: “After 10 years [at Madrid], at the end of the season this chapter comes to an end.
“At the same time, this decision means that my career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship. As I have always said: Real Madrid is and will be my last club. I am happy and proud, that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it by my own.”
Germany and Kroos miss out on the chance to claim European success and bring silverware home for the first time since they last did so in 1996.
