“It is often said that things are good now”
Kroos was often annoyed by this teammate
Updated 11/19/2025 – 10:10 amReading time: 2 minutes
Toni Kroos ended his career last year. Now the ex-national player spoke about a former colleague whose behavior is not only criticized by Kroos.
Toni Kroos celebrated great success at Real Madrid with Vinícius Júnior. During their time together between 2018 and 2024, they became Spanish champions three times and won the Champions League twice.
Nevertheless, Kroos was sometimes bothered by the behavior of the often histrionic Brazilian. The 35-year-old revealed this on the sidelines of the Icon League in Düsseldorf.
“At that moment I often told him that now is a good time, because then you get the feeling that the whole team will be disadvantaged at some point because of their behavior. At some point you can understand when it’s annoying – whether it’s an opponent, a referee or an opposing audience,” said the 2014 world champion on Monday.
Vinícius has repeatedly been in the spotlight for his behavior. The Brazilian is considered impulsive, provokes opponents, often argues with referees – and also regularly clashes with fans. Kroos already found this problematic during their time together at Real Madrid.
Kroos went on to explain how Vinícius’ constant arguments not only put a strain on him, but on the entire team: “As a team, you have the feeling that it is now directed against the entire team because of this.”
He therefore often tried to calm Vinícius on the field – also so as not to endanger his performance. Kroos: “I tried very often on the pitch to calm him down a bit – but above all so that he didn’t get out of his own game, because that happened sometimes. I often said: ‘You’re so good, you don’t need that’.”
Most recently, Vinícius sparked discussions again – in the Clásico win against Barça (2-1). After his substitution, the 25-year-old reacted angrily and disrespectfully towards coach Xabi Alonso. The scene was intensively discussed in Spain. Only his apology – in front of the team and on social media – brought some calm again.