Toni Kroos won the Golden Player Man 2024award given by Tuttosport on the sidelines of the vote for the Golden Boy, which obviously ended up in the hands of Lamine Yamal. It could be or seem like a career victory, given that the award now arrives posthumously, that is, after his retirement last summer following the European Championship in Germany. Kroos had probably hoped to also win the Balon d’Or which then ended up in the hands of Rodri, but the massive presence of Real Madrid in the top positions had diluted the prizes and the votes between Vinicius Jr, Bellingham and Carvajal, as well as Kroos himself.
Instead, here the board of legends has decided to give the honor to the best player to someone who perhaps was one. Of course, it’s always the best who leave (especially when relatively young) but Kroos won the Champions League as an absolute protagonist, as well as playing an excellent European Championship and was eliminated only by Cucurella’s controversial handball against Spain. On the other hand, when the finalists of the Ballon d’Or were released, Kroos had asked his team for “grace”. On the other hand, the others would have had another chance to raise it.
For completeness of information, here is the legends board. Stoichkov, Costacurta, Nedved, Fabregas, Massimo Mauro, Lina Souloukou (president of the board), Matthäus, Veron, Shevchenko, Rui Costa and Diana Langes Swarovski manager of Wacker Innsbruck.
The Golden Player Man 2024 is TONI KROOS!
He retired at the top, having won it all last season!#Goldenboy #Goldenboy2024 #FootballBenchmark #Tuttosport #football pic.twitter.com/SJytv3DFIy— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyAwards) November 27, 2024