Football
9y

Xabi Alonso hails Toni Kroos as 'one of the best' midfielders in the world

Xabi Alonso praised his Real Madrid successor Toni Kroos as "one of the best five midfielders in the world," adding that he always knew he would become an important player for his old club.

Bayern Munich allowed Kroos, 25, to join Madrid in the summer, with the Germany international set to go into the last year of his contract after refusing to commit to the Bundesliga club beyond 2015.

Meanwhile, during the final days of the transfer window, Alonso, 32, moved in the other direction and has since become a key player in Pep Guardiola's team.

"Toni is still a young pro, and has been playing at the highest level for two or three years now," Alonso told Sport Bild. "For me, he is one of the five best midfielders in the world. It was clear that he will not only come out a top player at Real, but moreover will be important for the team."

In recent weeks, Kroos has been in excellent form for Los Blancos, and also provided the late winner for Die Nationalmannschaft in the 1-0 victory against Spain on Tuesday. It was the first goal for Germany against the European champions in over 14 years.

Due to his performances, Kroos was one of six Germany internationals to be named on the 23-man shortlist for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Alonso believes one of the six has a chance of winning the award if the work as a collective is valued by voters above that of the individual performance.

"It will always be difficult against [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi. But should success with the team be honoured then the Germany players have the best chances. I keep my fingers crossed for my Bayern colleagues," he said.

"Should Manuel [Neuer] win it, it would certainly be justified. I have to say that he's not only the best goalkeeper I've ever played with by far, but also outstanding as the 11th outfield player. I knew before that he is world class. But alongside David Alaba, he has surprised me the most, with just how strong he really is."

Alonso is under contract at Bayern until the summer of 2016, and in those remaining 18 months he wants to become only the second player to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

He has already won the biggest trophy in European club football with Liverpool and Madrid, and he said he would love the chance to follow in the footsteps of Clarence Seedorf, who won the prize with Ajax, Madrid and AC Milan.

"That would mean a lot to me," he said. "Such a trophy is of course a team effort, but I can say: to win the Champions League with a third club was one of the main reasons for my transfer to Bayern."

^ Back to Top ^