Germany midfield great Toni Kroos has said “uncontrolled” immigration has left his home country unrecognisable and he believes his daughter is safer in Spain.
The former Real Madrid star, who left his homeland ten years ago to play for the Spanish giants, returned to Germany this summer to play for his country at Euro 2024.
In an interview recorded before Germany lost 2-1 to Spain in the quarter-finals last week – his last professional game – Kroos said he welcomed migrants but said Germany had not been successful in managing mass immigration.
He compared Spain to Germany and, when pressed on the issue by hosts of the conservative-leaning podcast he was speaking on, agreed that he felt there had been a “loss of control” regarding immigration to his country.
“I think this control over certain issues has just been lost a little bit over the years and there is a reason for that,” he said, according to The Times.
Germany midfield great Toni Kroos (pictured July 5 in Stuttgart) has said “uncontrolled” immigration has left his home country unrecognisable and believes his daughter is safer in Spain.
Kroos said that as his seven-year-old daughter (pictured with her father in May) gets older, he would prefer her to go out at night in Spain rather than in her home country.
“In my opinion, the reason is that people have overwhelmed them.”
He said it was “great” that Germany had welcomed the migrants with open arms, but added: “It was too uncontrolled.”
“I think we haven’t achieved that, that basically very positive approach that I support 1000 percent, because I think it’s sensational, that people come to us from outside and then are happy,” he told the podcast.
He also said: “I think Germany is a great country and I’m happy to be here, but it’s really not the same country it was 10 years ago when we left.”
The retired footballer told the podcast that he feels his daughter is safer in Spain.
He said that as his seven-year-old daughter gets older, he would rather have her go out at night in Spain than in her homeland.
“I wouldn’t have had that 10 years ago,” he added.
Suspected illegal immigrants sit on the ground after being detained by German police during their patrol along the German-Polish border to prevent illegal migration, in Forst, Germany, September 20, 2023 (file photo)
“It is clear that when a lot of people come, there is always a percentage that does us no good, just like among the Germans.”
At the end of the interview, Kroos said he would stay in Spain, despite retiring from Real Madrid at the end of the club’s season in June with a victory in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium in London.
As in many countries in the European Union and others in the region, the issue of immigration has caused division in German politics in recent years.
Political parties have been divided over how to address the issue after former Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed the entry of one million migrants in 2015.
More recently, the “traffic light” coalition of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz has approved reforms allowing dual citizenship.
Right-wing sectors of German politics led the backlash against Merkel, leading to growing support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The AfD recently came second in the European elections in Germany, reflecting a trend seen in other countries also grappling with migration issues.
Toni Kroos is seen at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1 after winning his sixth Champions League with Spanish giants Real Madrid
That trend was slightly bucked on Sunday when Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party came third in France’s legislative elections, to the surprise of many.
Several French footballers have weighed in on their country’s politics ahead of the French elections, including star striker Kylian Mbappé, who called on his compatriots to reject “extremists” at the ballot box.
“I think that more than ever we have to go and vote, it is really urgent, we cannot leave our country in the hands of these people, it is really urgent,” said Mbappé.
“We have seen the results of the first round, it is catastrophic. We really hope that this will change and that everyone will mobilise to vote… and vote for the right side.”