Toni Kroos exclusive: On salary sacrifice comments, his departure from Bayern and Roger Federer

In the first part of the interview Kroos discussed his future with Real Madrid, how he is committed to the club for the rest of his contract and then he will re-evaluate. He did, however, dismiss any notion of a move to the Premier League.

Coming to Real was a shock at the time, when Kroos decided to leave German giants Bayern Munich, something the club was not used. The departure was considered acrimonious in the media at the time but Kroos says he has no ill will towards Bayern.

"In retrospect, one can certainly say that one or the other regretted having let me go. I am not one of them. (laughs)

“For me it was the best way. There was no agreement back then. I had my firm opinion; Bayern had its own - and then things just go apart.

“Even if FC Bayern is not used to players leaving, that's the way it was. Nevertheless, the summary is that there are a lot of titles with the club and for me there is absolutely nothing stuck.

“Therefore, Bayern is the club - behind Union Berlin (where brother Felix plays, editor's note) - that I wish all the best.”

Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga are due to return to action this weekend and Kroos said he is looking forward to watching and hopes the situation can get to that level in Spain soon.

"We are looking forward eagerly to the situation from Spain and hope that the league, which starts first, doesn't relapse immediately and that this will have an impact on us.

"It's slowly starting again, we've been training again since this week, but without physical contact. It is a strange situation, a strange training. You see everyone, but still you are not allowed to come closer. It's even forbidden to pass the ball back and forth.”

During the coronavirus pandemic plenty of clubs have worked to help those misfortune but before those decisions were made some quotes from Kroos about salary sacrifice were taken out of context.

Kroos reiterated that he would say it all again, and that he thinks people just wanted to take them out of context.

“I would repeat the same thing again today. Anyone who deals with this statement, and can do so with three brain cells, also knows what it meant.

“The statement was made at a time when we were not even in discussion with Real about a salary cut. It's also no secret that Real Madrid is doing pretty well.

“ So, it was clear to me: As long as the club doesn't come to us and say that they need it to pay employees, it is unnecessary for me to waive my salary.

“Then I'd rather take the whole thing and use it to do something for those who need it even more. (...)

“But when the club approached us, it was clear to us that we would give up a part (editor's note: ten percent) to help one or the other employee.”

Kroos was speaking on Eurosport Germany’s new tennis podcast, where Boris Becker offered to come to Madrid to help coach him in the future, as the midfielder is a huge fan of the sport and he was asked about his reverence for Roger Federer, who he believes is potentially the greatest athlete of all-time.

"I am absolutely convinced of this - even if I can only speak for the time I have experienced. I can't judge the rest, but even then, it could be hard to surpass Roger. (...)

“For me, it's a mix of success and the fact that his tennis is nice to look at. I've met him a few times and can confirm that he is a totally pleasant guy.

“He comes across as a family man, is interested in football - even if he didn't hit the jackpot with FC Basel, but he has to go through it. So, it's not hard for me to be a fan of Roger Federer."

What about a potential successor to Federer?

“I once leaned quite far out of the window and said: In five years Dimitrov will be the clear number one,” Kroos says.

“How he moves, how he plays, I already liked it very much. But it hasn't come to that. Maybe I saw more than there was.

“Today I like to watch Stefanos Tsitsipas. If he gets more consistency in his playing, that could be one. I have yet to be convinced by Zverev.

“Of course, as a German I hope for him. The last person I really liked to watch from a German point of view as a tennis fan was Tommy Haas. Boris was unfortunately too early for me.

“If you look at the Grand Slams with Sascha, there's still a bit missing. I can see Tsitsipas just a bit further. And if I had to choose, Tsitsipas plays the nicer tennis for me."