Afterthe defeat of Germany from England, Toni Kross on Friday stated that hewas retiring from international football and won’t be playing for Germanyanymore.
"Ihave played 106 times for Germany. There will not be another time," hetweeted on his account. The 31-year-old Madrid referred to the Europeanchampionships and added, "I had already made the decision to retire afterthis tournament for some time,"
"Ithad been clear to me for a while that I will not be available for the World Cup2022 in Qatar." Kroos told that he has planned that in the next years hewould place his "full concentration" on Real Madrid.
"Iwould also like to be there more as husband and father for my wife and childrenIt has been a huge honour to have been able to wear this shirt for such a longtime," he wrote.
His main focus now lies in his club career with Real Madrid and spending time withhis family.
Healso thanked his fans as well as critics. "I always did it with pride andpassion. Thank you to all the fans and supporters that helped carry me withtheir applause and cheering, but also to those critics who gave me extramotivation,” he said.
Heheld special gratitude for the national coach, Joachim Loew who bowed out onTuesday following 15 years in the job which was, "Finally, I want to sincerely thank Jogi [Joachim]Low. He made me a Germany international and a World Cup winner. He put hisfaith in me, and we have written a long success story together."
Heearned 106 caps for his country, contributing 17 goals and 19 assists but wasstill determined to do more which can be clearly seen from his tweet whichsays, "I was hoping that Icould end up with 109 caps and one more major title, the European Championship,and gave my all to try and make that happen. I had long decided that thistournament would be my last."
The31-year-old Germany Midfielder would not play the World Cup in Qatar next year.In 2010, Loew first chose Kroos for a friendly match againstArgentina. In South Africa, he played some part in the same year's World Cupcampaign when the Germans finished third.
Afterfour years, he was the main component who played every minute of every game andscoring double in the 7-1 semi-final destruction of hosts Brazil, as Loew'slifted the World Cup trophy.