'Amazing Crowd': Toni Kroos Reacts After Being Continuously Whistled by Fans in Riyadh

At the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on Wednesday, plenty of fans gathered to witness what turned out to be a thrilling Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

With majority of the crowd behind them, Real emerged victorious finishing with a scoreline of 5-3 to qualify for the final.

Also Read: Real Beat Atletico 5-3 to Enter Super Cup Final

However, Real’s Toni Kroos was continuously whistled whenever he touched the ball during the contest.

Kroos came in as the second-half substitute for Luka Modric and a significant number of fans made their feelings toward him clear with loud boos.

Why was Kroos Booed? 

The reaction of the crowd was in response to Kroos criticising the rising trend of top players at their peak leaving European football to play club football in Saudi Arabia.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema among others have joined various clubs of the Saudi Pro League in the past years or so.

During an interview with the Sports Illustrated, Kroos had claimed players were only moving to Saudi because of the high wages on offer.

“Everyone has to make this decision for themselves, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who decided to do so towards the end of his career. But it becomes very difficult when players who are in the middle of their careers and have the quality to play for top clubs in Europe decide to make such changes,” Kroos had said.

“And then it is said that it is an ambitious sporting decision to go there, but the truth is that it’s all about the money. In the end it’s a decision for the money – and against football. And from there it starts to get difficult for the football we all know and love,” he added.

The German midfielder later took to X (formerly Twitter) with a tongue-in-cheek remark on the crowd.

“That was fun today! Amazing crowd!” he wrote.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said it was hard to fathom the behaviour of the crowd towards Kroos.

“I don’t understand the whistles. I don’t understand them, honestly. And I don’t think Kroos does either,” Ancelotti said during a post-match interaction with the media.