Toni Kroos responded in her own way to the boos received in Saudi Arabia.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos was criticized by the public on Wednesday evening in Riyadh, not for what he did on the pitch, but for his comments off the field. The German star has never been one to hold his tongue and criticized players who joined Saudi Arabia last summer, adding to comments he made in 2020.
That was fun today! Amazing crowd😍
— Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) January 10, 2024
Kroos came on as a substitute in the 70th minute against Atletico Madrid in Los Colchoneros’ 5-3 victory in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final after extra time. While the crowd was mostly in favor of Real Madrid, Kroos received the loudest boos of the evening, heard every time he touched the ball. Which was not lacking, since he touched the ball 85 times in 57 minutes and completed 72 of his 76 passes (95%).
In 2020, he said players moving to Saudi Arabia were doing so for money and not for other reasons, saying it was “bad for football”. He also said he would never go to that country himself due to the “lack of human rights.” Kroos has also made comments about homosexuality in the past. “I don’t know if I would advise an active footballer to come out as openly gay.”
After Gabri Veiga’s transfer to Al Ahli for 35 million euros, Kroos also spoke of “shame” in response to the move, saying he found it sad that players capable of playing at the highest level were going to Saudi Arabia for money in his podcast Einfach mal Luppen. After the match, Kroos posted a tweet mocking the treatment he received. Carlo Ancelotti also spoke out about the boos after the match, telling Cadena SER that he did not understand them.
