CORNERFLICK
Toni Kroos has moved towards coaching two years after retiring from football, with the former Real Madrid midfielder telling the Spanish federation he wants to enrol on the special course for professional players in 2027-28.
Current licence and next step
Kroos already holds a coaching qualification that lets him manage teams up to Spain's third tier, Primera Federación. The faster route is available to players with at least seven years of top-level European experience, but it does not allow him to take charge in La Liga or the division below it. At those levels, he can only work as an assistant.
Completing the professional-player course would give him a first-level licence and permission to coach at any level. Kroos has said he wants to move step by step rather than jump straight into senior management.
Madrid link remains open
His connection with Real Madrid has never gone away. The club has long considered bringing him back into its structure and into daily life at Valdebebas, and talks took place in the spring, although they did not lead to a serious agreement.
Florentino Pérez still wants to keep him close to the club. Kroos won five Champions League titles and several domestic trophies in 10 seasons in Madrid.
Work in his academy
Kroos has not been idle since retirement. He has set up his own academy in Boadilla del Monte, outside Madrid, and is working closely on the development of young players.
That experience, along with his reading of the game and calmness under pressure, could shape his next career move. Real Madrid may yet be one of the options if he continues along the coaching route, whether as an assistant, with Castilla or elsewhere in the club's set-up.