Real Madrid fans are not entirely surprised Toni Kroos has decided to retire from club football at the end of the season, which will conclude for Real Madrid on June 1 with the Champions League Final against Borussia Dortmund.
Kroos is still one of the elite players in world football, which he proved time and time again in the biggest games of the Champions League this season, specifically vs. Manchester City and former employers Bayern Munich.
But Kroos always said he would retire young to enjoy other things besides the rigors of professional football.
With his unique skill set as a deep creator and human metronome, Toni Kroos is irreplaceable. But Real Madrid can find a way to mitigate his loss with a combination of current players and even transfer purchases.
Here are three players who could help Real Madrid bridge the gap of losing one of the most incredible footballers of his time – and of all time.
Aurelien Tchouameni
The most important player to highlight is Aurelien Tchouameni, who joined Real Madrid in the summer 2022 transfer window after they had already won the Champions League.
When Kylian Mbappe rejected Real Madrid to stay at PSG, Tchouameni immediately became Juni Calafat’s priority target, and it was quite the move when Tchouameni chose Real Madrid despite both Kylian Mbappe and Luis Campos pushing to sign him for PSG.
Tchouameni has become one of the most important players to Real Madrid, both as a No. 6 and a center back with his defensive covering, intelligence, and passing accuracy.
While Tchouameni isn’t Kroos, he is the closest it can get in world football to replacing the generational maestro. Like Kroos, Tchouameni can create chances and complete 95 percent of his passes, dictating play.
He has a way’s to go when it comes to making an impact in the final third, but Tchouameni can make up for that by being an even better defender.
Exequiel Palacios
Exequiel Palacios is the unsung hero of the undefeated Bayer Leverkusen side that stormed its way to the 2023/24 Bundesliga title.
The Argentinian is in his prime at the age of 25 and showed an ability to impact the final score, like Kroos does, with four goals and five assists for Die Werkself.
Palacios is a solid covering defender and an excellent, unselfish creator from deep who can also keep play ticking. When it comes to signing someone from the outside, Palacios is the best it gets.
The problem? So many clubs in the Premier League would be willing to spend more, because they don’t already have a great defensive midfielder like Real Madrid on the Aurelien Tchouameni level.
Aleix Garcia
Aleix Garcia and Real Madrid are undoubtedly familiar with each other. Barcelona had been courting Garcia hard before seemingly – and rather unwisely – moving away from the Girona rival star as a target.
One of the best defensive midfielders in world football, Garcia broke out as a legitimate star and one of the best players in LaLiga last season.
The 26-year-old, like Exequiel Palacios, is in his prime and has only enhanced his reputation with another strong season for Girona, who challenged Real Madrid for the LaLiga title at one point.
Garcia had nine goal contributions of his own with well over a key pass per game and 2.3 combined tackles and interceptions per match. Honestly, he is world-class and can do a little bit of everything.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.