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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has made his choice between winning a FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The Germany international has won both competitions in a glorious senior career spanning over 15 years.
During a recent discussion with Real Madrid's official website, Kroos was asked whether he would prefer to win the World Cup or the Champions League.
The Germany international gave a definitive answer, choosing the FIFA World Cup over Europe's premier club competition. He reasoned that the former comes just once every four years whereas the Champions League is played every year.
He further added that a player needs to be lucky to play in three or four World Cups. Here's what he said when asked to pick one of the two competitions:
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"It’s really difficult to compare, almost impossible. They’re the two most important competitions in football. I've been asked this many times.
"Becoming a world champion is the greatest thing ever, it's every four years and it's getting more and more difficult to win it. If you're lucky you can play in it three or four times and the Champions League every year, but they’ve all been special moments.”
Kroos was part of the Germany national team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina in the final. He was among the best players in the competition, scoring two goals and also making the Team of the Tournament.
As far as the Champions League is concerned, the midfielder has won the trophy five times, once with Bayern Munich in the 2012/13 season and the rest with Real Madrid.
It goes without saying that Kroos has been one of the greatest and most successful players of the 21st century.
Real Madrid's Toni Kroos will not be part of the upcoming FIFA World Cup
Toni Kroos retired from international football last year and thus will not be part of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. He made a total of 106 appearances for his national side, scoring 17 goals in the process.
However, he will have the opportunity to win his sixth Champions League title this season. Kroos formed an integral part of the Real Madrid squad that won the tournament last season, which was his fourth UCL title with Los Blancos.
During the same interview, he was also asked about the possibility of winning his fifth Champions League title with Real Madrid and sixth overall. In reply, Kroos said:
“That wouldn’t be bad at all. I can count up to six, so it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s the same every year – we want to win every competition we play in. It’s a new season with a very good team."
Real Madrid are currently placed top of Group F, having won three, drawn one and lost one out of their five games so far. Underlining that they have made a strong start to the competition, Kroos further said:
"We’ve started well and, as is always the case in the Champions League, you have to make sure you’re there when the last 16 starts, for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, etc.
"Last season, we saw that it was possible, but you can also be eliminated on any day. There’s no doubt we have a team that can compete, and our objective is to win it."
