Real Madrid star Toni Kroos on booing episode in Saudi Arabia – 'I didn’t even think it was for me'

If you watched either of Real Madrid’s Spanish Super Cup matches last week, you would have clearly heard the boos being aimed at Toni Kroos. Los Blancos were very well supported in Riyadh, but the German midfielder was undoubtedly the exception.

The reason behind the situation relates to comments made by Kroos earlier in the summer. He took aim at Saudi Arabia over the influx of players joining its league, especially those who are still very young (such as Gabri Veiga).

Kroos discussed the matter on his podcast “Einfach mal Luppen” (via Marca), which he does with brother Felix. The 34-year-old was surprised by the booing, although he admitted that it did not affect him at all.

“It was something new and also exciting. That was a new experience, something I hadn’t had before, but I didn’t want to miss it.

“I didn’t expect it at all, I didn’t even think it was for me. The background is that I don’t think it’s good for young players to come into the league and give up development, big games, high levels in Europe, which they could certainly play, instead of Saudi Arabian league money. That was my statement back then and it was about half a year ago, for me it was already forgotten.

“I noticed the boos at some point during the first half against Barcelona. At first I didn’t think they were referring to me, then I realised, ‘Oh, this is for you, just for you’. I can say, from the bottom of my heart, that it did not bother me or affect my way of playing. On the contrary, it was quite fun.”

It’s good to see that Kroos handled the situation with good grace, and it’s certainly true that he was not affected, as he dropped an excellent performance in the Spanish Super Cup, which Real Madrid would go on to win.