🏆 Ballon d'OneFootball: A departing legend in 7th place | OneFootball

Welcome to the 2024 Ballon d'OneFootball.

We are currently counting down our top 10 men's footballers in the world right now, before revealing the winner on 27 July 2024.

You can read here how we voted for this year's award.

And here is our list so far.

Today we have...

7th: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid and Germany

Goals in 2023/24: 1

Assists in 2023/24: 12

Trophies won in 2024: LaLiga title, Champions League, Supercopa de España

Highest ranking among voters: ES 🇪🇸 (3rd)

Why were they nominated?

Because despite announcing a surprise retirement this year, the 34-year-old was still among the absolute best in the game.

After a season in which he steered Real Madrid to domestic and continental glory, the veteran then reversed his international retirement and put on a midfield masterclass at a home European Championship for Germany, in which they were very unlucky to bow at the quarter-final stage.

Kroos is the rare sporting example of someone bowing out at the peak of their powers.

Best moment since the start of 2023/24?

For the emotion of it all, his late substitution in the Champions League final win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, when Carlo Ancelotti allowed him to take the adulation of not just Real fans but the footballing public one last time.

He deserved every bit of that ovation.

"Replacing a player of his level is impossible," the Italian admitted afterwards. "A player of his quality is hard to find. He's one of the best midfielders in the history of football."