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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/landofphi on 2025-07-21 04:36:16+00:00.
Original Title: Toni Kroos: “I retired at the peak of my powers. It’s a great feeling as you’re the one who made the decision […] Neither my coach, nor my family, nor my body were going to tell me when to retire. You can’t stand it until you’re 40. You have to leave football before football leaves you.”
The full quote on his retirement:
'I spent several months thinking about this. I mean, I didn’t just get out of bed one morning and suddenly say to myself, “You have to retire!” No, I thought about it a lot. I had already thought about retiring the year before, but in the end I decided to renew for another year with Real Madrid, they had been very insistent. But that didn’t change my idea, which was always to retire like this, and luckily I’ve managed it. I think it’s difficult to do better than I did in my last season with Real Madrid. I left after winning La Liga and the Champions League. Adiós."
The best thing is to leave at the very top. You walk away with a great feeling because you’re the one who made the decision. And before someone sent me to the bench because I wasn’t as good anymore or because I wasn’t as important to the team as I was right up to the end. I preferred to be the one to step away. I wanted to avoid all that. Neither my coach, nor my family, nor my body were going to tell me when to retire. You can’t stand it until you’re 40. You have to leave football before football leaves you"