Football icon Jose Mourinho jokingly called for UEFA to step in and prevent Toni Kroos from retiring after Real Madrid won the Champions League final. Goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior saw the Spanish giants taste European glory for an unprecedented 15th time at the expense of Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
It also marked Kroos’ final appearance in a Real Madrid shirt, with the German midfielder set to retire from football after this summer’s Euros. He received a standing ovation when he was substituted in the closing stages of the match and looked emotional as the celebrations began after the final whistle.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Mourinho called on football’s governing bodies to intervene and stop Kroos from hanging up his boots when he is still at the peak of his powers.
The former Manchester United and Chelsea boss joked: “It should be forbidden. FIFA and UEFA, have so many rules and decisions. Make a decision and stop the guy from retiring!”
Mourinho also predicted that Jude Bellingham will score fewer goals for Real Madrid next season following the arrival of Kylian Mbappe.
‘Bellingham will score less goals next season,’ Mourinho told TNT Sports after Madrid’s win over Dortmund in the Champions League final on Saturday.
‘Because the system is going to change, the position of Bellingham is going to change. They will play Rodrygo, Mbappe, and Vinicius Jr, they will play three.
‘For me, he [Carlo Ancelotti] will play with two midfield players and Bellingham behind the three attacking players.
‘So in midfield, he will play probably [Federico] Valverde, [Eduardo] Camavinga and [Aurelien] Tchouameni, and Luka [Modric] coming when the game needs eyes.
‘But with these guys, Rodrygo, Mbappe, and Vinicius, to play against them… it’s hard.’
Meanwhile, Steve McManaman believes Madrid’s summer transfer window will be quiet following Mbappe’s arrival.
‘I think everybody was just waiting for this game to be out of the way,’ McManaman said of Mbappe’s imminent arrival at Madrid.
‘You had to respect PSG, you had to wait for their season to end, you had to wait for this [the Champions League final] and I think the announcement will be made in the next 48 hours or so.
‘Kylian will come in, Endrick, the new Brazilian superstar, will come in. Two forwards and I think that might be it actually for Madrid.
‘I think the year after next they will concentrate on some defensive areas, certainly the full-backs they will be looking at. Very methodical aren’t they in picking their players.’