Kroos‘ departure from FC Bayern: negotiations lasted just three minutes | OneFootball

Volker Struth is one of the most influential player consultants in German soccer. With his agency Sports 360, he looks after numerous prominent names, including national coach Julian Nagelsmann. In the BILD podcast Phrasenmäher, the 59-year-old now provided rare insights into negotiations behind the scenes – and recalled what was probably his shortest round of talks ever. It was a tough one and led directly to FC Bayern

When asked how quickly a negotiation with him had ended, Struth answered surprisingly openly: „We once had a negotiation at Bayern about Toni Kroos. I left after three minutes because it was clear that we weren’t coming together.“

Kroos wanted appreciation – Bayern hesitated

photo: IMAGO

This refers to the talks in the run-up to Kroos‘ departure in the summer of 2014, when the midfield strategist was under contract with FC Bayern but refused an extension. The reason: different ideas regarding sporting and financial appreciation

Struth made it clear very early on that the positions were too far apart. Consequence: talks ended, topic over. It was the beginning of the end of a collaboration that had been extremely successful in sporting terms

Switch to Real Madrid as a turning point

After the 2014 World Cup, Kroos finally moved to Real Madrid for €25 million – a transfer fee that seems like a bargain in retrospect. In Spain, the international became the defining figure of an era, winning the Champions League several times and becoming a global star

For Bayern, his departure remained a topic of discussion for a long time, but in retrospect, the close negotiations that Struth is now reporting on show how quickly decisions can be made in professional soccer – sometimes in less than three minutes

The Kroos transfer is still considered one of the most remarkable deals of the past decade, and it apparently began with a conversation that was over faster than it began.