Toni Kroos agent: ‘Kroos is the steal of the century for Real’

If you’re still bitter over Bayern Munich selling Toni Kroos to Real Madrid in 2014, you should look away now. Toni Kroos’s agent, Volker Struth, decided to discuss the transfer with Sport Bild via ESPN. He was quite frank on his assessment of the deal, and not far off given the points he makes.

Looking at the transfer fees these days, and then remembering that Toni was transferred for €25m, you could argue that Kroos is the steal of the century for Real.

Those in charge at Real only told us after the Champions League final in Cardiff [in June] that they are still delighted to have won over such a player for them. Only to put things into perspective -- James Rodriguez back then also joined Real Madrid for €80m [and is now on loan at Bayern].

We could not reach an agreement with Bayern in late 2013. Toni only got better under [then-Bayern coach Pep] Guardiola, he was -- not only for me -- the best player at the [2014] World Cup in Brazil, and then had offers from top clubs. It's a normal process. Toni was not happy with what Bayern offered, and thus talks were put on ice.

Kroos had a very successful career at Bayern Munich. Kroos’s skill and physicality as a central midfielder continues to make him one of the best in the world. While at Bayern, Kroos won major tournaments, including winning the Bundesliga three times, and the Champions League in 2012-13.

If what former club chairman Karl Hopfner said was true, and indeed Kroos rejected a new contract at the club, then Bayern got the best they apparently could for Kroos:

In the case of Kroos, the board of the club has taken the best decision.

After it had been impossible to sign an extension during the phase of negotiations, the board had to consider the intrinsic value.

Toni Kroos did not want to sign a new deal, therefore he would have been a Bosman player in 2015.

Because of this, a departure has been the right solution.

Karl Hopfner | Sky Sports

Whether or not Bayern were forced to sell Kroos isn’t a black-and-white discussion. There are a plethora of gray areas that make it tough to determine the validity of whether Bayern did all they could. But what seems to be growing more clear each day Kroos puts on a Real Madrid kit, is that he very well may be one of the steals of the century.

Reports, and his agent, suggest that Kroos was indeed sold for €25m. That number in of itself is remarkable. At the time, it was a relief to move on from the Kroos saga from a Bayern side.

As Phillip Quinn wrote for BFW when the transfer took place:

There's no doubting Toni's contribution to Bayern over the last two seasons. However, the arrive of Thiago, David Alaba's ability to play in the midfield, and the emergence of Pierre Hojbjerg, Bayern were willing to sell Kroos now with a year left on his contract than letting him walk for free next summer. We wish him well.

At the time and now it does seem that Bayern made the best decision they had in front of them. But Kroos’s continued development as a midfielder in La Liga makes the transfer fee still feel wildly under what Kroos’s true value was at the time.

His agent makes a good point, and while Bayern have built a successful midfield in the wake of Kroos’s transfer, losing him for that amount and seeing him play currently is a hard to reconcile.

Based on how much they paid for him and the production they get on a week-to-week basis, Real Madrid very well may have snatched Kroos as the “steal of the century”. But that reality, and the reality that Bayern did what they had to do in selling him, can exist in the same world. Yet, that doesn’t make it any easier to watch Kroos dominate for Los Blancos.