Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos says he will retire at the Spanish club, but it might not be when his contract runs out in June 2023.

Some Spanish reports say that the German, who will be 33 in January, is thinking about leaving club football early at the end of the season.

Kroos quit playing for Germany on the international level in June of last year after England beat them in the last 16 of Euro 2020. He said the reports were “funny” because he himself hadn’t decided what he would do next.

“I feel very good physically, things are going well on the pitch, I’m very happy,” Kroos told a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Celtic.

“Sometimes it’s funny to read things, when not even I know what is going to happen. Next year I will think about it, or in the (World Cup) break, I will think a bit about what could happen, bit by bit I will decide.

“What I have always said and is something that has not changed, is that I will not move clubs. I will always stay here, I will retire here, the only thing I don’t know is when.”

Kroos was sent off for the first time in his career in Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Madrid and Girona. He moved to Real Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2014.

He has won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid and once with Bayern Munich. He has also won three Spanish league titles and three German league titles. In 2014, he won the World Cup with his country.

The midfielder is happy to wait until as late as March 2019 to talk about a new deal with Real Madrid.

“The club are very calm, like me. I’ve been here nearly eight and a half years,” added Kroos. “We will talk calmly in January, February, or even March.”

Photo by EPA/Sergio Perez