Real Madrid players publicly ask star midfielder to take Kroos’ no.8 shirt following emotional message | OneFootball

Toni Kroos’ retirement has come shocking to the world of football. In a matter of hours, many legends of the sport have shared a personal message for the German midfielder – particularly his teammates.

Now, Federico Valverde has also shared an emotional message for Kroos via his personal social media handle. His message reads:

“I guess when we were kids we all had an idol. The one we admired, the one we saw on TV and thought ‘I want to be like that’.

“And if we were children with a lot of imagination, we could dream that we were playing ball with that idol, which was distant, untouchable, difficult to reach. That boy was me. That boy fulfilled his dream and played with the player he always had as an idol.

“Today with a strange feeling and a lump in my throat, I know that that child would have liked to play with you ten more years, and so would I, Toni. Because I never stopped being that child who always admired you.”

Vinicius and Alvaro Rodriguez have commented on the post, asking the midfielder to take over the iconic number 8 jersey.

Their comments read “The heir of the 8” and “Now it’s your turn to follow the legacy brother”.

Earlier reports had already suggested that Valverde would be the chosen one to fill Kroos’ boots, but there were some unknowns as to whether the player would be willing to retain his current number 15.

As of currently, Valverde has played a total of 256 games for Real Madrid, scoring 21 and assisting 23 more.

Besides the Uruguayan’s astonishing numbers, Kroos himself had named the player ‘top three in the world’ in 2022.

With Valverde’s Real Madrid campaign, Kroos’ approval, and his teammates pushing the 25-year-old to take the legendary shirt number, it looks quite certain that Valverde will opt to fulfill his childhood dreams.