Kroos: "I don't know what the injured players are doing at home"

Toni Kroos was the player selected to speak ahead of Real Madrid’s clash with Atalanta and he spoke about a number of topics. Asked time and again about Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, he stated that the player he’d most like to cross a freekick into the box for is Karim Benzema.

Benzema, though, won’t be there against Atalanta. On the absences and the importance of the match, Kroos said: “If we’re missing a lot of players then that just means we’ll each have to give a bit more, out of those of us who are here. This match is a final for us. The Champions League starts now. We’re facing a good team who play well. We need to control possession and do something in attack while defending well too.”

Asked about the injury crisis, Kroos replied:”I’m not the right person to ask about that. I’m almost never injured. I don’t know what the injured players do. I don’t know what they do at home or what they do in the rehab. I’m not in their bodies. I just know what I do. Of course we’re annoyed to have so many injuries.”

Kroos was also asked about his role in the team and if he feels like a leader. He said:”It’s not important how I see myself. I give my opinion on and off the pitch. I try to always play the same. My job shouldn’t change too much, even with the injuries.”