Toni Kroos reveals how he told Carlo Ancelotti about his retirement | OneFootball

Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti expected him to stay at the Bernabeu for at least another year, making it difficult to announce his retirement.

Kroos walked away at the very top. Madrid cruised to last season's La Liga title and his last ever club match was the triumphant Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.

With La Liga wrapped up in early May, Kroos was given the opportunity to inform Ancelotti about his future plans when they were relieved from the pressure of a title race - giving him ample time to prepare for a proper farewell to Madrid fans.

However, the moment was still not easy for Ancelotti to accept, with the coach keen to see the midfielder - regarded as one of the greatest of all time - remain in action for another season.

"It was very difficult for me to tell Carlo, because he expected me to stay and because we had and still have a very good relationship. He was my first coach here and it was not easy to tell him, but everything in life has an end," Kroos explained in a lengthy interview with Marca.

Kroos won his sixth Champions League title in his last club game / Visionhaus/GettyImages

"It wasn't easy. I knew he wouldn't be angry, but he would be a bit sad. It wasn't an easy moment for me either, because something that had been very special was coming to an end. I tried to choose a good moment, an easy moment...and I was lucky that we won La Liga by a margin and I said 'now!'

"Because there was the perfect time between La Liga and the Champions League final. It would have been more difficult if we were playing for La Liga, because I didn't want this issue to be above everything else."

Kroos added that he wanted to tell each of his teammates personally and did so "one by one", rather than announcing it in front of the whole group, spending a little longer talking with players he had developed a closer relationship with.

"I didn't want the news to reach a website or a newspaper first, and I did it all in one or two days," he continued. "I told some people before the news came out, because I deserved for the news to come out when I wanted. And it was the same with the club, I told them and they told me to communicate it when I wanted. Fortunately, nothing came out before, which was a surprise, to be honest."