From Wembley 

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It is a crowning achievement for Toni Kroos. Already praised as a legend by the Real Madrid faithful in his final home game at the Bernabéu against Real Betis (0-0). The Madridistas had unfolded a banner reading ‘Gracias Leyenda.’ At  its center was Toni Kroos and the number 22 representing all titles won with Real. On Saturday, that number grew to 23. But that isn’t all. By winning his sixth UCL title, Kroos, together with teammates Dani Carvajal, Nacho, and Luka Modric, has now also caught up with Real Madrid legend Paco Gento (overview).

“Amazing,” Kroos said to CBS when asked about leaving the stage with yet another UCL title to his name. “Six titles in the Champions League is crazy, something I never thought I’d achieve. It seems in these games, we are unable to lose. You don’t lose finals. That’s a good base to have, I guess. It comes about because of quality, but the mentality is crazy. It’s a lot of believing. It’s what separates this club from others. It could be worse. That was the plan [to end with a Champions League win], even though it’s difficult to plan this.”

Kroos’ journey, however, isn’t entirely over. The central midfielder will represent Germany at the European Championships this summer. That tournament is the only significant trophy still missing in Kroos’ outstanding career. Indeed, Kroos’ title collection is incredible. On top of his 23 titles with Real Madrid, Kroos also won nine major titles with Bayern Munich and the World Cup with Germany in 2014. That makes for a significant title cabinet in the Kroos household. 

Toni Kroos steps down: Left Real Madrid “as a legend”

With Kroos gone, Real Madrid now face the almost impossible task of replacing the German playmaker. “Like all of us, I’ll miss him hugely,” Federico Valverde said after the game. “He’s left our club as a legend. He’s made his imprint on Real Madrid’s history.  We younger guys have just tried to learn as much as we can from him, like with Modrić, and I’d thank Toni for showing us his fantastic competitive attitude.”

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti was also full of praise for his playmaker. “We’re very grateful to him. He’s ended on the highest note possible. He had the balls to finish. He’s a legend, and he was very happy. Not only for his play but also for his attitude, professionalism, and seriousness. I’ve told him that we’re waiting for him and that if he changes his mind we’ll be there. We are losing a very important player, but we have players to replace him. We’ll adapt to the characteristics of our players, and we’ll have to play differently. We have fantastic players and the resources to be competitive.”

The final once again underlined Kroos’ importance to Real Madrid. Playing in a central role in Ancelotti’s setup, the Rostock native completed 97% of his passes and created four chances, including the first goal. In fact, it was almost uncharacteristic when Kroos misplaced a couple of passes in the first half. Ultimately, the 34-year-old would quickly regain his normal composure, completing pass after pass, increasing the pressure on Dortmund throughout the second half, and providing the assist through a brilliant corner. The underlines that Kroos steps down at the top of the game and, in his current form, will be almost impossible to replace for Real Madrid.