When Toni Kroos left Bayern Munich in favor of Real Madrid there was a lot of speculation that the midfielder simply had his fill of the club and wanted to move on.
Contrary to popular belief, however, Kroos looks back fondly on his time in Bavaria.
“I had a wonderful time there, I have to say that very clearly. It was a long time, I went there when I was 16, almost as a kid, a teenager. I’ve grown up quite a bit there and had to do it quite quickly,” Kroos recently said on the Einfach mal Luppen Podcast (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “And I was relatively alone, That shaped me to make my own decisions, to have my own opinions, to trust myself to a certain extent, because it was very successful there. So I have very, very fond memories of Bayern.”
What about the perception that remains out in the public that Kroos does not like Bayern Munich?
“You don’t stay with a club for that long if you don’t like it. Of course I really, really liked it. You shouldn’t mix things up — just because I don’t necessarily go on vacation with certain people doesn’t mean I dislike the club in general, that’s utter nonsense,” said Kroos. “And to this day: if there’s a game that I watch in the Bundesliga, it’s always Bayern, otherwise I don’t watch anything. It’s all fine. You can ask any of the players and they will confirm I felt really comfortable in the team. It’s not a big surprise there are always decisions in the football business or that you don’t get along with some people. But the most important thing is that everything’s fine.”