In a recent interview, Kroos detailed how Manchester United approached to sign him prior to his move to Real Madrid.
Toni Kroos announced his retirement from professional football on May 21 2024.
He played his last professional game at EURO 2024 for Germany in the quarter-finals, where they lost 2-1 AET to eventual winners Spain.
Kroos made 868 appearances for club and country, including 205 for Bayern Munich, 465 for Real Madrid and 114 for Germany.
In 2014, he joined Real Madrid and went on to win five Champions League titles in 10 years.
However, his career could have panned out very differently, as he initially planned to join Manchester United.
In a recent interview with Sport1, Kroos detailed how United approached to sign him prior to his move to Los Blancos.
“In 2014, before I signed with Real Madrid, I had already agreed with Manchester United. That would have been a move from Bayern to United.”
“But then they kicked out David Moyes, who I was still sitting on my couch with in Munich and hired Louis van Gaal. Then we both declined with thanks”, he explained.
Kroos bought into United and Moyes’ plan at the time, but the Scotsman’s sacking led to the deal falling through.
“It was a really nice afternoon with very pleasant people. We talked a lot about United’s football plan, which convinced me”, Kroos said.
Moyes previously revealed this news in a 2018 interview with talkSPORT.
“Toni Kroos had agreed to come to Manchester United with me. I met him and his wife and we agreed it all when he was at Bayern Munich”, he said.
Kroos was happy to play under Moyes, but settled on a move to Spain after Van Gaal’s appointment at United.
It is unlikely Kroos regrets that the deal did not materalise, after such a successful career in Madrid.
However, United fans can only dream about how the German could have revolutionised their midfield in his prime
