Category: Football

AC Milan captain Davide Calabria said on Wednesday that the departure of Olivier Giroud to Major League Soccer will leave a leadership void at the seven-time European champions.

Veteran French striker Giroud will play his final match for Milan in a post-season friendly against Roma in Perth on Friday in front of an expected crowd of 50,000 at the Optus Stadium.

The 37-year-old is heading to Los Angeles FC next season and will bow out of international football for France after the Euros, which begin in Germany next month.

Giroud was given an emotional farewell by the Milan fans as he signed off from Serie A with a goal in a 3-3 draw with Salernitana on Saturday.

American midfielder Christian Pulisic and winger Rafael Leao are missing from Milan’s tour squad but Giroud has made the long journey to Australia.

“He’s an important leader on-and-off the field … particularly off the field,” Calabria told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.

“He’s supported me a lot. I’ll miss him a lot, but am happy to have these few days together to celebrate his departure.”

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Giroud was a fan favourite at the San Siro and his three-year stint will be largely remembered for scoring key goals in Milan’s 2022 Serie A triumph, the only trophy he won at the Italian club.

Notably, Olivier Giroud is not the only departure at Milan, who are looking for a new coach after coming second in Serie A but failing to mount a serious challenge to fierce rivals Inter Milan.

Stefano Pioli, who had one year remaining on his contract, left at the end of the Serie A campaign after four-and-a-half years in charge.

Reports said he will be replaced by Lille coach Paulo Fonseca, who has also been linked with Marseille.

“I don’t know anything … we’ll see,” Calabria said when asked by AFP if he expected Fonseca to take the reins.

Assistant coach Daniele Bonera will take charge in Perth, but he had been earmarked to coach the under-23s next season.

Roma, who finished sixth in the Serie A, will be without several star players, including on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku who is reportedly set to return to his parent club Chelsea.

READ: Ronaldo breaks Saudi Pro League scoring record

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season when he struck for the 34th and 35th time in Al Nassr’s final game of the campaign.

“I don’t follow the records, the records follow me,” the 39-year-old Portuguese forward tweeted afterwards.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star struck in first-half stoppage time and again in the 69th minute with a header as Al Nassr defeated Al Ittihad 4-2 at home on Monday.

The previous record for most goals in a single season was the 34 scored by the Moroccan Abderrazak Hamdallah in 2018-19.

Al Nassr were already assured of a second-placed finish, coming a distant 14 points behind champions Al Hilal.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Riyadh-based Al Nassr in December 2022, the start of an influx of overseas players to the Saudi league on lucrative contracts.

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Notably, the star Portuguese forward ended the year 2023 as the leading goal-scorer, leaving behind the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the highest goal scorer of 2023 during his side Al-Nassr’s Saudi Pro League fixture against Al-Ittihad on December 26.

Ronaldo scored a decisive brace in his side’s 5-2 victory over Al-Ittihad which also propelled him to the top of the goal-scoring charts.

Ronaldo converted two crucial penalties in the game, lifting his tally to 53 goals and 15 assists in 58 matches.

This achievement took Cristiano Ronaldo past the 52 goals scored by Harry Kane (57 matches) and Kylian Mbappe (53 matches) while playing for Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.

Ronaldo, who led Portugal to victory at the 2016 Euros, has been selected for the squad for this year’s edition in Germany next month — his 11th international tournament.

He is the most capped player in men’s international football with 206 appearances and has scored a record 128 goals.

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New Zealand’s legendary batter Ross Taylor spoke highly of India’s batting star Virat Kohli, stating “he is up there” with football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo and Messi are regarded as two of the best football players in the world, courtesy of their unparalleled success on the field amid their ongoing decorated careers. Whereas, Kohli has been reaching new heights as a batter since making his debut for India in 2008.

In addition to their on-field achievements, Ronaldo and Messi have been sweeping the social media landscape.

The Portugal international is the most followed individual on Instagram with 630 million followers, followed by the Argentine superstar, who has 503 million followers.

Virat Kohli has a whopping 269 million followers on Instagram, the 13th highest in the world by an individual.

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Meanwhile, former New Zealand batter Ross Taylor asserted that Kohli is parallel to Ronaldo and Messi in terms of social media influence.

“Players are putting outposts endorsing products and things like that. Who would have thought of that in 2008? Someone like Kohli, who is a superstar in the world of cricket, but is also a global superstar in the world of sports,” stated Taylor.

“In terms of Instagram and social media, he’s up there with Ronaldo and Messi,” he added.

It is worth mentioning here that Virat Kohli has thus far represented India in 522 international matches across formats and scored 26,773 runs with the help of 80 centuries and 139 fifties.

He was also a part of the Indian teams that won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

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Spain coach Luis de la Fuente named Barcelona’s teenage stars Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi in a 29-man Euro 2024 squad list on Monday.

De la Fuente must cut three players before June 7 for the tournament that kicks off in Germany on June 14.

Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez and Real Betis’ Ayoze Perez also get their first-ever international call-ups.

De la Fuente left out various players who have been involved in the last few years, including Marco Asensio, Gerard Moreno and Pablo Sarabia.

Yamal, 16, has burst into the limelight this season with Barcelona, along with 17-year-old centre-back Cubarsi.

The coach said he had included three extra players to account for potential injuries before then, with Real Madrid competing in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.

“It’s a guarantee against any set-back that could happen in the Champions League final, or in training, that would generate a problem,” said the coach.

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“They all have the same chance (of going), we will minimise risks, we have very versatile players.”

Spain, who won the European Championship in 1964, 2008 and 2012, reached the semi-finals of the last edition.

They are in a ‘group of death’, facing Italy, Croatia and Albania in Group B.

Before the tournament Spain face Andorra on June 5 and Northern Ireland on June 8 in friendlies.

Spain squad for Euro 2024

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad), David Raya (Arsenal/ENG)

Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Nacho Fernandez (Real Madrid), Aymeric Laporte (Al Nassr/KSA), Alex Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea/ENG)

Midfielders: Rodri Hernandez (Manchester City/ENG), Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid), Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Pedri, Fermin Lopez (both Barcelona), Alex Baena (Villarreal), Aleix Garcia (Girona)

Forwards: Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Joselu (Real Madrid), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig/GER), Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres (both Barcelona), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ayoze Perez (Real Betis)

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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Luis Enrique said he had been lucky to work with Kylian Mbappe after the superstar forward played his last game for the club in Saturday’s 2-1 French Cup final win over Lyon.

Mbappe made his farewell appearance for PSG before an expected move to Real Madrid but he was unable to add to his club-record tally of 256 goals with Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz scoring on the night.

Dembele and Ruiz netted in the first half and PSG then withstood a Lyon comeback attempt after the break following a Jake O’Brien goal which reduced the deficit.

The most successful side in the history of the French Cup, PSG have now won the trophy 15 times, including seven times in the last decade and four since Mbappe signed from Monaco as a teenager in 2017.

The victory allowed PSG to complete a domestic league and cup double in Luis Enrique’s first season as coach, although the campaign remains overshadowed by their exit from the Champions League in the semi-finals against Borussia Dortmund.

“We played the final very well. We played with great intensity and were great on the ball,” said Luis Enrique.

“I think we have had a very good season. We would have liked to stay around for another week and not go on holiday yet but that is life,” he said, referring to next weekend’s Champions League final.

“Nobody said football was fair, but it doesn’t matter. Next season we will come back stronger and will look to sign even hungrier players, who have even more desire to win.”

Of the departing Mbappe he added: “I think I have been lucky to coach Kylian but it has been a difficult season for him because after seven years and all he has achieved it is always hard to say goodbye.

“But he was always prepared to help the team and tonight was the cherry on the cake even if he didn’t score.”

Mbappe was making his 308th and final appearance for his hometown club, for whom he signed in August 2017 from Monaco in a 180 million euro deal.

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Victory means he leaves PSG with four French Cup winners’ medals to go with six Ligue 1 titles and two victories in the now-defunct League Cup.

Mbappe finished his last season in Paris with 44 goals in all competitions, eight on PSG’s run to the Cup final.

He was centimetres away from giving PSG an early lead at Lille’s Stade Pierre-Mauroy, which was hosting the game with the usual venue the Stade de France being prepared to host the Olympics.

A second-minute corner was headed on by Lucas Beraldo and Mbappe, diving in at the far post, narrowly failed to connect with the ball.

Lyon survived an early onslaught but fell behind midway through the first half when Dembele was left completely unmarked at the back post to head in a cross.

Dembele turned provider as PSG scored again in the 34th minute when his ball to the back post was converted at the second attempt by Spain midfielder Ruiz.

Lyon, who enjoyed a remarkable revival in Ligue 1 to go from the bottom of the table in December to finish sixth and qualify for Europe, appeared down and out.

They did attempt a comeback, with Irish defender O’Brien heading in a corner 10 minutes after the break to give them hope.

But PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a brilliant save to tip a Nicolas Tagliafico header over the bar, and Alexandre Lacazette had a shot deflected wide as Mbappe and PSG held on.

“We have mixed feelings tonight,” said Lyon coach Pierre Sage.

“If you had told us at the start of December that we would qualify for Europe through the league and get to the Cup final, I don’t think anyone would have believed it.”

READ: Manchester United stun Manchester City to win FA Cup

WEMBLEY: Manchester United upset Manchester City to win the FA Cup with a shock 2-1 victory at Wembley Stadium here on Saturday.

City were hot favourites to win a second successive Premier League and FA Cup double.

Yet Eric Ten Hag found a way to neutralise Pep Guardiola’s side as first-half goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo put United on course to win the FA Cup for the first time in eight years.

Jeremy Doku squeezed an 87th-minute strike past Andre Onana’s weak attempted save but it was too late to rescue City.

Ten Hag celebrated by kissing the Cup as he held it aloft in the Royal box.

Asked if he was worried about his future, he said: “I don’t know. The only thing I’m doing is preparing my team.

“This is a project for me. When I came in I can say it was a mess. Now we are better. We are not where we want to be.”

Guardiola added: “Congratulations to United. It was a tight game. It can happen. At the end they scored two goals and we couldn’t score more.”

Having ended a turbulent season on a high note, if Ten Hag’s two-year reign does end, his exit would provoke memories of fellow Dutchman Louis van Gaal’s Old Trafford departure.

Van Gaal was fired just two days after United’s FA Cup final victory against Crystal Palace in 2016.

Ten Hag will hope a more apt comparison is Alex Ferguson’s 1990 FA Cup final win against Palace, which kick-started his remarkable run after calls for his sacking earlier that season.

Ferguson was in attendance as a match labelled Ten Hag’s funeral turned into a triumph for the much-maligned Dutchman.

United shareholder Jim Ratcliffe, who has control of football operations at Old Trafford, was also watching from the stands alongside co-owners Joel and Avie Glazer.

Linked with Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Gareth Southgate, among others, there is still plenty for Ratcliffe to ponder after United finished eighth in the Premier League this season — their lowest final position since 1990 — and crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage.

Ten Hag believes a lengthy injury list was the root of the problems and can point to the two trophies he has won in three cup final appearances with United as proof of what he can do when his team are at full strength.

Ten Hag ended United’s six-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup last year and has now avenged their 2-1 loss to City in the FA Cup final 12 months ago despite finishing 31 points behind the champions this term.

United will also qualify for the Europa League, avoiding a first season without European action since 2014-15.

Manchester United benefitted from an unusually tepid Manchester City performance as their double bid fell flat in their first domestic defeat since losing at Aston Villa in the league 171 days ago.

Last weekend, City became the first team to win the Premier League in four consecutive seasons.

But Guardiola’s men looked hungover after the celebrations that followed their sixth title in seven years.

Content to sit deep with all 11 men behind the ball, United stifled City impressively and gleefully accepted their gift-wrapped opener in the 30th minute.

Diogo Dalot’s punt forward should have been dealt with by Josko Gvardiol, but the left-back hesitated as he looked for an offside flag.

Gvardiol headed the ball over City keeper Stefan Ortega, who had rashly rushed off his line, leaving Garnacho with the simple task of tapping into the empty net as Ten Hag clenched his fist in celebration.

Just nine minutes later, Mainoo punished more sloppy City defending.

Garnacho advanced unchecked down the right wing and found Fernandes, whose superb first-time pass reached the unmarked Mainoo for a clinical close-range finish.

Manchester City pushed harder after the interval but although Doku’s shot slipped through Onana’s grasp to set up a tense finale, it wasn’t enough to deny Manchester United.

As the final seconds ticked away, Ten Hag stood in the sunshine nervously waiting to celebrate a dramatic win that could earn an unexpected stay of execution or serve as his final fling.

READ: Buttler, bowlers aid England thump Pakistan in second T20I

Olivier Giroud, the record goal scorer of France, is to retire from international football after Euro 2024, the World Cup-winning striker told Friday’s edition of L’Equipe.

Giroud, who will turn 38 in September, said it was time for the younger generation to have a chance at the international level.

The former Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan striker, who joins MLS outfit Los Angeles FC following the European Championship, has scored 57 goals in 131 international appearances.

He broke Thierry Henry’s national goalscoring record of 51 at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar where France did not surrender the title they won in 2018 easily, losing to Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina on penalties in the final.

“To be honest, this will be my last tournament with France,” said Giroud, who was first capped in a friendly against the United States in November 2011.

“Obviously I will miss it a lot. But I believe as regards ‘Les Bleus’, it will be game over after Euro.

“It is time to leave the stage to the young.

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“If I triumph in the Euro, I can say that I won everything apart from the Premier League, which is very difficult to win,” he said, adding that the 60-goal milestone was not an obsession for him.

Olivier Giroud, who made his name at Montpellier by inspiring the unfashionable club to the 2012 Ligue 1 title, says he believes he still has enough in his legs to pursue a club career.

“I still think I have two years in me, but for the France team in my opinion it has come to an end,” said Giroud, who was also a member of the team under Didier Deschamps that reached the Euro 2016 final.

“Time is beginning to catch up with me and I have thought about it long and hard.

“Playing every three days is becoming more and more difficult, especially at the international level.

“I am, though, not going to Los Angeles to be a tourist, but I think it is the right moment for me.”

Giroud’s long career has been rewarded not only with the 2018 World Cup winners medal but also the 2019 Champions League with Chelsea, the 2022 Serie A championship with AC Milan and four FA Cup victories (three with Arsenal, one with Chelsea).

READ: ICC T20 World Cup 2024 commentary panel unveiled

Kylian Mbappe will bring the curtain down on his Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) career on Saturday and has the chance to sign off with another trophy in the French Cup final against Lyon.

It will be Mbappe’s 308th and final appearance for his hometown club, for whom he signed in August 2017 from Monaco in a 180 million euro deal.

That is assuming the France captain, now aged 25, plays in the game in Lille. He sat out PSG’s last two Ligue 1 matches of the campaign, their 2-1 win at Nice on May 15 and Sunday’s 2-0 win at Metz.

It seems that he was left out of those matches to keep him fresh for the Cup final, with PSG having already wrapped up the Ligue 1 title, although coach Luis Enrique hinted that he has not been entirely happy with his star man’s application of late.

“This week we will see who is ready, who is not, and who has the most desire,” he said last weekend. “The French Cup final is very important for us.”

Mbappe’s time with PSG has been laden with silverware, at least on the domestic scene.

He has helped the Qatar-owned club win the Ligue 1 title six times and the now-defunct League Cup twice. Victory against Lyon on Saturday will allow him to claim a fourth winners’ medal in the French Cup.

But of course, his time at the Parc des Princes has also been marked by a lack of success where it matters the most, in the Champions League.

Mbappe scored 42 goals in 64 appearances for Paris in Europe’s elite club competition, but PSG could not lift the trophy in those seven years — and have still never won it.

With Mbappe there was a run to the final in Lisbon in 2020, when PSG lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in a game played behind closed doors at the height of the pandemic.

There were two other appearances in the semi-finals, but he was unfit and an unused substitute in the second leg of the last-four loss to Manchester City in 2021, and simply did not perform when it really mattered in the defeat by Borussia Dortmund this season.

With Real Madrid expected to be his next destination, Mbappe will be hopeful of finally becoming a Champions League winner once he has moved away from Paris and from France.

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Mbappe has been a superstar ever since he broke through as a raw teenager in a brilliant Monaco team that won Ligue 1 in 2017.

He is an icon in France and will continue to be so while playing his club football abroad, just as Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry were in the past.

But he will be determined to sign off with one more trophy, with PSG having the opportunity to win both the Ligue 1 title and the French Cup in the same season for the first time since the Covid-curtailed 2019/20 campaign.

Mbappe’s own history in the French Cup finals has not always been happy, even if he has been on the winning side three times.

He was sent off in the 2019 final, which PSG lost on penalties against Rennes, and came off hurt in the first half of the following year’s final, as Paris got the better of Saint-Etienne.

But Mbappe usually turns up on the big occasion, and as well as his last game for PSG this will be his first final since the 2022 World Cup when he scored that stunning hat-trick against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Doha.

The danger for Mbappe and PSG, however, is that they might not have everything their own way against Lyon.

Luis Enrique’s team comfortably won the title, but Lyon’s revival since being bottom of the league in early December has been astonishing.

Pierre Sage took over an ailing side and in five months has taken them to European qualification.

The final is being played outside of Paris and its surrounding region for the first time, with the Stade de France requisitioned for the upcoming Olympics.

The Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, with its capacity of 50,000, emerged as the obvious choice as a venue for the game given the identity of the finalists.

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DUBLIN: Ademola Lookman scored a stunning hat-trick as Atalanta ended the 51-match unbeaten run of Bayer Leverkusen to win the Europa League final 3-0 at Aviva Stadium here on Wednesday.

With this victory, Atalanta claimed their first trophy in 61 years, meanwhile, Lookman became the first player to score a hat-trick in a European final since 1975.

The side from Bergamo have long lived in the shadow of nearby giants AC and Inter Milan.

However, they have enjoyed a golden era under Gian Piero Gasperini, reaching the Champions League on four occasions, and now have silverware to show for it.

“To win it with Atalanta is perhaps one of the football fairytales that rarely gives scope for meritocracy,” said Gasperini.

“It doesn’t always come down to cold hard numbers or super leagues but shows teams without huge budgets can achieve big things.”

Leverkusen have made a habit of late fightbacks in their remarkable run to winning a first-ever Bundesliga title without tasting defeat. But this time they failed to dig themselves out of a hole created by a slow start.

“It’s a shame that the time it didn’t work out for us was in a final,” said Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka.

“It’s bitter, definitely, we lost a final today but we go on and we’ll make up for it on Saturday (in the German Cup final).

Atalanta’s more purposeful play in the opening stages was rewarded after just 12 minutes.

Davide Zappacosta got to the by-line and Lookman caught Exequiel Palacios napping to fire into the top corner at the back post.

The Nigerian has at times endured a nomadic career, bouncing around the lower reaches of the Premier League on loan spells at Fulham and Leicester after being discarded by RB Leipzig.

But Lookman has found a home in Bergamo, where he will now forever be a hero.

“In the past few years I’ve been able to take my game to a new level and show that on a more consistent basis,” said Lookman.

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“I’m pleased with the progress I’ve made but this is just the beginning. I hope for more nights like this.”

The 26-year-old’s second goal was fit to win any final as he nutmegged Xhaka before curling a powerful shot into the far corner.

For the fourth time in seven Europa League knockout matches, Xabi Alonso’s men found themselves 2-0 down.

Alonso has enjoyed a rapid rise to become one of Europe’s hottest coaching properties.

The Spaniard has rejected the advances of former clubs Liverpool and Bayern Munich to remain at the BayArena next season.

However, Alonso’s decision to start without a recognised striker did not work and he threw on Victor Boniface at half-time to give his side a focal point up front.

The damage, though, was already done as the German champions looked a side drained by their record run across three competitions.

“Normally it happens earlier but it is the first (defeat) in such a big game, it hurts for sure. We have to deal with this pain in a positive way,” said Alonso.

“It didn’t go as planned. We were not on our best level, so we will learn from today.”

Atalanta were happy to soak up the Leverkusen pressure after the break and hit on the counter-attack.

The final blow was another fabulous finish from Lookman as he skipped past Edmond Tapsoba and this time blasted into the top corner on his weaker left foot.

Atalanta had lost all three of their previous finals under Gasperini, most recently in last week’s Coppa Italia defeat to Juventus.

But this time they were not to be denied their shot at history as they were roared across the finishing line by the thousands clad in blue and black that had made the trip from northern Italy to the Irish capital.

In doing so they became the first Italian side to win the competition since Parma lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999.

READ: Imad Wasim has “no individual goal” for T20 World Cup

German international midfielder Toni Kroos announced on Tuesday he will retire from all football after Euro 2024.

“My career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship,” 34-year-old Kroos, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, said on Instagram.

Before the European Championship, Toni Kroos has a chance to win the Champions League with Real for a fifth time when they face Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1.

He also won the Champions League with Bayern Munich before joining the Spanish giants.

Kroos joined Real in 2014 and quickly formed a formidable midfield partnership with Luka Modric.

In a statement on their website, Real said Kroos “will go down in Real Madrid history as one of our club and international football’s greatest legends”.

Kroos has also won the Liga title four times and won the Bundesliga three times with Bayern.

He announced he was quitting international football in July 2021 but reversed his decision in February after talks with Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, who persuaded him to play on till the Euro 2024 on home soil.

Toni Kroos, who has racked up 108 caps and 17 goals for Germany, was one of the key players when they won the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and scored twice when they inflicted a 7-1 defeat on the host nation in the semi-finals.

But four years later he was unable to prevent Germany from crashing out in the group stage in Russia.

He did not play in Germany’s second World Cup group-stage exit in a row at Qatar 2022 but, after making his international return at Nagelsmann’s request, will lead a new-look Germany side at Euro 2024.

“My ambition was always to finish my career at the peak of my performance level,” Kroos said on Instagram.

“I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it on my own.”

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