Winning the UEFA Champions League three times in a row is a Real Madrid record that no team has ever even come close to breaking. The Merengues remain the only club in the history of the tournament to have successfully defended their title, and that too, two times in a row.
However, as the old adage goes, time and tide wait for no one, and only a very few players from the 2017-18 team are still playing for the Whites. As things stand, only Carvajal, Kroos, Modric, and Nacho are the only players that are still in the team who won the threepeat.
From among these players, the German Toni Kroos is still playing at a very high level, and has maintained the level of consistency that has characterized him throughout his playing career.
However, even players like Kroos are not immune to the decline that comes with age, and he decided to focus only on his club career by retiring from the international team in 2021.
But it seems like the midfielder’s chapter with the national team is not yet over. As MARCA has reported, Kroos has decided to return to the German national team ahead of the UEFA EURO 2024, as he announced on his social media:
“Guys, brief and to the point: I will play for Germany again in March. Why? Because the coach (Nagelsmann) asked me to, I feel like it and I am sure that in the Euro Cup, you can do much more than most believe in this moment.”
Up to now, the Real Madrid star has appeared 106 times for Die Mannschaft, and his last appearance for his country came in the UEFA EURO 2020, in a match against England which ended 2-0 in the favour of The Three Lions.
Kroos’ return to Germany will definitely be a boost for the German team, especially for Nagelsmann, who has not been able to get the best out of his players. A group led by Antonio Rudiger asked the coach to request Kroos to return, and Nagelsmann was ultimately successful in this endeavor.
In addition to the coach’s insistence, the fact that this tournament is scheduled to be held in Germany is another factor that could have caused Kroos to return. Similarly, he also wants his children to witness him defending his national team before he ultimately retires from playing.
The midfielder has informed the leaders at Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti of his decision to return to the German national team before publicly declaring it. However, it remains uncertain whether Kroos is returning only for the Euro or will continue playing for Germany even beyond this tournament.