Toni Kroos has discussed the dispute he had with current Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola when the two men coincided at Bayern Munich.
Controversy sparked after Guardiola decided to substitute off Kroos in the second half of a match against Stuttgart, with the midfielder expressing his unease by throwing his gloves on the turf.
Pep Guardiola compares Haaland with Johan Cruyff and Zlatan Ibrahimovic
This gesture frustrated Guardiola, who decided to leave Kroos on the bench for two games in a row.
The current Real Madrid star asked the then-Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer if he could talk to the coach to solve the problem.
“We had a good conversation and were able to solve the problem within five minutes,” Kroos told the Einfach mal Luppen podcast that he runs with his brother Felix.
“I didn’t agree with the change, period.
“It was probably important to Guardiola that I sought to speak to him myself.
“Just because I don’t go on vacation with certain people doesn’t mean that I have separated myself from the club in a dispute.”
Why did Kroos leave Bayern Munich to join Real Madrid
Kroos and Guardiola coincided at Bayern Munich in the 2013/2014 season. At the end of that campaign, the German midfielder decided against renewing his contract and ended up signing for Real Madrid in exchange for 25 million euros.
“I loved playing for [Guardiola],” Kroos told The Athletic.
“And, of course, I could have renewed my contract at Bayern.
“But I didn’t believe it would be a good idea to sign an agreement just for the coach.
“He wanted me to renew my contract, but what sense did it make to sign a five-year contract if he was going to leave before that?”
