Toni Kroos has revealed he made the decision to retire this summer as he did not want to end up feeling like a problem for Real Madrid.
The 34-year-old midfielder had been offered the chance to sign a new one-year contract at the Santiago Bernabeu but instead shocked the world by announcing his retirement, with Kroos set to hang up his boots after Euro 2024.
On his podcast, Einfach mal Luppen, Kroos confessed that he had been considering retirement last summer but wanted another chance to end his career on a high note.
"Anyone who has listened carefully to me in recent years will have heard me say at some point that the only option for me is to finish my career at Real Madrid," he said. "My last season at Real means that this summer will be the end.
"Even outside of sports, I think it was probably the most difficult decision of my life. Thank God I haven't had to make a more difficult decision in my private life. To start football at the age of six and manage it to a certain extent until you are 34...it is a very, very serious decision if football has always been at the centre of your life. That is why it is not so easy.
"I was already a little bit at the point of making this decision a year ago. So it was already made. But I had also been thinking about it for a long time. In retrospect, I have to say that it was the right decision to continue another year, because things have really turned out as I hoped. I stayed healthy, it wasn't too much for my body, it was another full season without injuries. Plus, I had a lot of fun in most of the games, I managed to maintain my level and we were successful as a team.
"That's always a big goal when you think about retiring, that you want to retire successfully. Even before the Champions League final, I can say that it has been a successful season. Now, it seems like the perfect time.
"I never wanted to have the feeling that the club, the fans and the people around me had to tell me 'it's over' at the end, or that I would end up sitting here on the bench for another two or three years. That, in some ways, wouldn't be worthy of a career, so I'm glad, happy and a little proud that I was able to avoid all those things. It's a nice feeling."
Kroos went on to thank those who have paid tribute to his career, including teammate Luka Modric, and offered his appreciation to Real Madrid for giving him the time to make this decision.
"Since last year, and now with the various projects that I have built and am building on the side, I can perfectly imagine life without football," he explained. "That does not mean that I will not miss it, but I will miss it if I leave now, in a year or in five years. Clearly, at some point, this big change was coming.
"I look at the positives: more time at home, fewer trips and stays in hotels...that's what I have during a season like this. In addition to all the fun and victories, you also get these feelings. Ten or so trips a year where you think, 'wow, that seems like ten wasted days', or that you travel three days for a 90-minute game: 'I'm travelling for three days, in a hotel, what could I do at home in that time?'.
"These thoughts have been on my mind for a whole. I'm looking forward to having some time to myself and more time at home.
"The timing is good because it is a fact that I made this decision myself. I could make it myself at any time, it was not made for me or about me. This feeling is very important, that of having it in your own hands, which is not always the case.
"Ten years is a long time. I wouldn't have thought about it when I signed [for Madrid]. Because I also know that if you don't perform consistently, the average life in such clubs sometimes is not long. I embarked on a brutal adventure. It wasn't just about going to the biggest club in the world. Going abroad with such a small family is a big step."
