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FBL-ENG-FACUP-MAN CITY-CHELSEAAFP
Mohamed Mansi
Translated by

Will the Real Madrid legend come out of retirement to play alongside Rodri?

LaLiga
Real Madrid
Manchester City
T. Kroos
Rodri
Spain
England
Germany
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Toni Kroos commands rare respect in football. Every word from the Real Madrid legend draws attention, all the more so because the vision that defined his play still shapes his opinions in retirement.

Little wonder, then, that so many wanted to hear Kroos on Rodri, the Spaniard tipped as the man to fill the void the German left in Real Madrid's midfield.

According to "Defensa Central", statements attributed to Kroos have swept across social media over the past few hours, claiming he was mulling a return to the pitch to line up alongside Rodri, who is close to swapping Manchester City for Real Madrid.

The circulated statements read: "If Rodri joins Real Madrid, I might be forced to come out of retirement just to play beside him. Perhaps he could teach me some things about how to become a complete midfielder."

They went on: "Of all the names linked to Mourinho's project, Rodri is the player I want to see the most. Imagine Rodri and Bernardo Silva controlling Real Madrid's midfield. Then you would have moved a part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium."

On the size of the fee, he was quoted as saying: "People will talk about the value of the transfer, but there are players who are priceless. The winner of the Ballon d'Or, the World Cup, and one of the best midfielders of this generation, his value cannot be haggled over much."

  • Toni KroosGetty

    Fake news, but Kroos liked it

    Defensa Central made clear that these statements did not originally come from Toni Kroos, or at least that is what the former player himself confirmed after several social media accounts circulated them and pinned them on him.

    Kroos responded to one of the posts on his Instagram account. He wrote: "I never said this... but I liked it anyway."

    Those few words let Kroos deny authorship while still nodding to the content. Many read it as a positive sign, a "blessing" of sorts, for the idea of Rodri moving to Real Madrid.

    Kroos always treads carefully when he talks about Los Blancos. Even so, he knows the current Manchester City player is exactly the piece Jose Mourinho needs in midfield.

    Plenty of people compare Kroos and Rodri, yet the Spain captain brings different qualities to the table. Whatever the similarities, Rodri's influence on how his team performs and functions as a collective makes him an exceptional player in his own right.

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