Two headline members of the first-team setup at Spanish giants Real Madrid have today revealed their hopes that teammate Toni Kroos will opt to extend his playing days beyond the conclusion of the campaign.
This comes amid the ongoing speculation that the German could be in line to hang up his boots ahead of next season.
Kroos has never been shy in admitting his intention to retire from the game early, with the powers that be at Real Madrid having been forced to intervene on more than one occasion in an effort to convince their midfield maestro to continue.
A similar dynamic is playing out in Spain’s capital at present, with Kroos, once more, understood to be giving consideration to lowering the curtain on a legendary career.
Florentino Pérez and co, however, are desperate for him to stay put, as the 34-year-old continues to play an absolutely pivotal role in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
And, as alluded to above, on Monday, a similar message has been echoed by two members of Ancelotti’s ranks.
First, taking to social media, Aurélien Tchouaméni ‘liked’ a Twitter post, urging his midfield partner to renew his contract in Madrid:
And as much has since been followed by Antonio Rüdiger revealing his hope that Kroos will consider a U-turn from international retirement, too.
Speaking to German outlet Kicker (as cited by Yahoo) on Monday, stopper Rüdiger was drawn on the upcoming European Championships, set to take place in his home country this summer.
And the former Chelsea man made use of the opportunity to call for his compatriot’s return to Die Mannschaft’s setup, in explaining:
“It is a home Euros, we want to have the best players there, and at the moment I see Toni as one of our best Germans, because he is also one of the best Real Madrid players at the moment.”
“We’re talking about a player who has been here at Real Madrid for 10 years and who still commands a great deal of respect. You have to achieve that first, for me it’s an incredible feat.”
Conor Laird | GSFN
