Kroos for the Ballon d´Or? Why not, says Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti has backed Toni Kroos for this year’s Ballon d’Or if Real Madrid and Germany win the Champions League and Euro 2024 respectively.

With another LaLiga title under their belts, Madrid are into the Champions League final after they overcame Kroos’ former club Bayern Munich in the last four.

Borussia Dortmund stand in Los Blancos’ way of a record-extending 15th European crown.

And Kroos, who has come out of international retirement in order to boost Germany’s Euro 2024 chances, has played a key role in Madrid’s success this term.

In fact, he has been so good, that Ancelotti cannot see why the Ballon d’Or would not be a possibility.

“The Ballon d’Or for Kroos? Well, anything can happen,” Ancelotti told reporters after Madrid hammered Alaves 5-0 on Tuesday.

“If he wins the Champions League and the Euro. I think he can do a double. Germany can win with Kroos.”

@ToniKroos #RealMadridAlavés pic.twitter.com/QhiGbpm583

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) May 14, 2024

Kroos has played 46 times in all competitions for Madrid this season, with only Joselu, Rodrygo and Federico Valverde making more appearances.

The 34-year-old leads Madrid’s squad for chances created (85), while he is second for assists (nine) and expected assists (7.6).

He has attempted 3,257 passes, over 500 more than any of his club-mates, completing 3,083 of them (94.6 per cent).

However, his immediate future is not yet certain, though Ancelotti is not concerned.

“At the moment, we are not worried about what he is going to do, neither am I, nor the club, nor Toni,” the Italian added.

“Until June 1, this is a secondary issue. We are now thinking about winning the Champions League.”

Madrid now want to make the most of their remaining LaLiga games as they prepare for their showdown with BVB.

“These games are important to maintain the rhythm, the good dynamics, the motivation and the good play. There are two weeks left. Now we’ll rest for a few days and next week we’ll do some physical work. In the second week we will do tactical work,” Ancelotti said.

“For me as a coach, it’s the best season. The team has been fantastic, we deservedly won LaLiga. We’re on a cloud, but we have to keep going because we haven’t played the most important game yet.

“This team has a lot of talent. Very young people with a lot of quality. It has the opportunity to mark an era in the future, given the value of the youngsters we have.”