MADRID (AP) — Toni Kroos will retire from soccer after trying to give Real Madrid yet another Champions League trophy and lead Germany to the European Championship title at home. The 34-year-old German midfielder said Tuesday it was a tough decision, but that the timing felt “somehow perfect.”

During his youth, he was a mediocre student and spent a lot of time practising football, however, he was well-behaved in class and well liked among his peers at school. Kroos married his long-term girlfriend Jessica Farber on 13 June 2015. They have two sons and a daughter.

Real Madrid's German international midfielder Toni Kroos announced on Tuesday he will retire from all football after Euro 2024. "My career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship," 34-year-old Kroos, who won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, said on Instagram.

Kroos reportedly left Bayern after feeling he, as a player that had come through the youth team, was undervalued by the club hierarchy and paid less than big name arrivals. Often outspoken, his relationship with the media — and to some degree fans — in Germany has also been frosty at times.