Pep Guardiola ‘is desperate to bring Toni Kroos to Manchester City on a free transfer next summer’ with the Real Madrid star’s contract expiring… and the Spanish boss ‘has convinced the City board to sanction the deal’
- Manchester City are reportedly preparing to make a move for Toni Kroos
- Kroos has spent eight seasons at Real Madrid but is in the last year of his deal
- Pep Guardiola coached the German midfielder for one year at Bayern Munich
- Kroos, 32, is said to have received ‘very tempting calls’ from other clubs
- But Real Madrid are reportedly confident he will continue at the Bernabeu
Manchester City are reportedly preparing to make a move for Toni Kroos, who is out of contract at Real Madrid next summer.
The German midfielder, 32, continues to delay signing a renewal at the Bernabeu and in January he will be able to negotiate a pre-contract deal with clubs abroad.
He has spent the last eight years at Real Madrid, winning four Champions Leagues and three LaLiga titles.
Manchester City are reportedly preparing to make a move for Real Madrid star Toni Kroos
According to El Nacional, Pep Guardiola has persuaded the Manchester City board to try to sign Kroos on a free transfer.
The report adds that the World Cup winner has received ‘other very tempting calls’, but Real Madrid are confident that he will stay at the Bernabeu.
Guardiola is known to be a fan of Kroos, who he managed for one season at Bayern Munich before the midfielder joined Real Madrid for £21.5million in 2014.
In the 2019 docufilm Kroos, the Spanish coach said: ‘I think he’s a competitive animal, Toni. What has most impressed me about Toni as a footballer, as a player, is that he is always there. Always.
‘He likes to play football and it doesn’t matter where – the Champions League final or the first round of the cup. In Germany or Spain. He likes to play all of the time.
‘He is a player with impressive effectiveness. You can count on him 60 games in one season. These are the physically strong ones. He is never injured. He plays in heat, in cold, in rain, in wind. In all circumstances he is always available.’
Pep Guardiola is known to be a fan of Kroos, who he managed for one season at Bayern Munich
The German midfielder, 32, will be out of contract in the Spanish capital next summer
Manchester City are currently well-stocked in midfield, with Kalvin Phillips joining this summer to bolster a squad that already contained Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.
Their reported interest in Kroos comes after the German took a swipe at the Premier League and players who move to England for purely financial reasons.
‘TV money has been significantly higher in England for years and yet it hasn’t resulted in English teams winning everything,’ he told the OMR podcast this week.
‘Thank God not all players look only at salary but also at winning many titles and to grow more.’
