Real Madrid is gearing up for the pre-season after returning from their well-deserved break. The Spanish side, which completed the double last season of the domestic league and the Champions League, looks to continue their battle on the pitch against Barcelona in a friendly fixture in Las Vegas on July 24.
But the situation that is making waves is a nasty jab that Real’s midfield general, Toni Kroos, took at Schalke 04 on his podcast, Einfach mal Luppen, which he jointly runs with his brother Felix Kroos.
The British pop star Ed Sheeran recently performed in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, home to the German football club Schalke. It was completely sold out, with fans cramming whatever space left to get on their toes and enjoy the melodious voice of Sheeran.
Kroos, who received the information about Sheeran’s concert at the Veltins Arena, used it to mock Schalke on his podcast. “Ed Sheeran has achieved something that I have very rarely seen, it’s that people left Schalke’s stadium happy.”
The 32-year-old was as blunt as one can get. Schalke was relegated after an abysmal 2020/21 season and endured a season in the lower strata of German football, but bounced back and sealed a place to play in the Bundesliga for the upcoming season.
This light exchange between the Kroos brothers and their dry humour on the podcast didn’t sit well with the Royal Blues. Toni uttered the joke without the intention of hurting anyone, but it seems the recently promoted German club was taking no prisoners.
On their Twitter handle, the Royal Blues posted a video in which their star striker, Simon Terodde, is responding coolly to the questions coming his way. The video was titled, ‘At least we can give cool interviews after the final whistle.’ A clear dig at Toni’s premature actions of leaving an interview midway after the victory against Liverpool in the Champions League final recently because the questions were too uncomfortable or smart for him.
Toni has made no further comments or remarks about the video shared by Schalke on their Twitter handle.
Probably given his stature and the way he carries himself, someone needs to inform him that his wise comment has elicited a response from Schalke, which Toni believes is a team that makes their fans cry.
For now, the waters are calm and Kroos can look forward to yet another successful campaign without controversies.