Kroos Shocker: How Manchester United Missed Out on the German Midfield Maestro

Toni Kroos, the former Real Madrid and German national team midfielder, has admitted that he was on the verge of joining an English Premier League club in 2014.

Kroos explained in a statement to German newspaper Sport 1 that talks had stopped after the coach was sacked.

Kroos said: “Before I signed with Real Madrid, I had already agreed to Manchester United 2014, but David Moyes, who sat next to me in Munich, was sacked, and they signed Louis van Gaal, so we both turned it down.”

United sacked David Moyes after the end of the 2013–2014 season, and appointed Louis van Gaal as the team’s technical director for the start of the season following the end of his stint with the Netherlands national team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

He added: “After Moyes’ sacking, nobody at United spoke to me for a long time and I began to have doubts.”

As talks with United broke down, led by the club’s historic coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid opened the door to talks with Kroos in a bid to convince him to join the Santiago Bernabeu.

Kroos said of Real Madrid talks: “The World Cup has started and Ancelotti contacted me to join Real Madrid.”

Kroos won 23 titles with Real Madrid, including one Spanish King’s Cup title, 5 European Champions League titles, the same as the Club World Cup, 4 European Super Cup titles, the same as the Spanish League and the Spanish Super Cup.

Along with Luka Modric and Casemiro, Kroos formed a formidable midfield trio in Real Madrid’s formation.

Kroos spent 7 seasons with Bayern Munich before deciding to join Real Madrid.

Kroos decided to retire from football after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Wembley Stadium and participating with Germany at Euro 2024.

The Germans were eliminated from the Euro tournament hosted by Germany in the quarter-finals, losing 2-1 to Spain.

Kroos decided to retire from international football in 2022, before deciding to withdraw his decision in February 2024 after German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann was able to persuade him.

Kroos returned to the national team in February this year after retiring from international football in 2022.