Retired Madrid star Kroos named Germany's player of the year

Former player Toni Kroos, who retired at the end of last season, has been honoured as the best player of the season in Germany. The award is presented by the German Association of Sports Journalists (VDS) and Kicker magazine.
According to the German publication, the former Real Madrid player won, with 285 votes, over Bayer Leverkusen players Florian Wirtz (246) and Granit Xhaka (66), second and third, respectively, in the voting, which also highlights the good campaign of the team led by Xabi Alonso, who has received the same recognition, but in the category of coach.
Kroos, who already won the award in 2018, told the magazine that the distinction is "a good confirmation and a great recognition of what I have achieved last year". The Teuton put in an outstanding performance that ended with him winning the Spanish League and the Champions League.
The Greifswald native hung up his boots after the last European Championship, in which his national team lost in the quarter-finals to Spain. He returned to the 'Mannschaft', after having resigned from it and having refused to participate in the World Cup in Qatar 2022, to end his career in style.