TONI KROOS did not join his team-mates in wearing a shirt with Arabic inscription as Real Madrid celebrated their Spanish Super Cup win over Barcelona.
The two sides, in addition to Atletico Madrid and Osasuna, jetted out to Saudi Arabia for the four-team tournament last week.
Real Madrid booked their place in the final with a 5-3 victory over Atletico, despite a comedy gaffe by Kepa Arrizabalaga leading to an Antonio Rudiger own goal,
Barca, meanwhile, overcome Osasuna 2-0 to set up an El Clasico final.
The showpiece final was played at the 25,000-seater KSU Stadium in Riyadh.
After their 4-1 win, Real Madrid players wore commemorative shirts with an Arabic inscription on the back.
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Kroos didn’t, however, having been outspoken about the Saudi Pro League.
When 21-year-old starlet Gabri Veiga snubbed Napoli to move to Saudi Arabia from Celta Vigo last summer, Kroos called it “embarrassing”.
He then told Sports Illustrated that players were just moving to the Kingdom for money.
Kroos, 34, said: “It’s been said that they play ambitious football there, but it’s all about the money. In the end, it’s a decision for the money and against football.
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“That’s when it starts to become difficult for the football we all know and love.
“Everyone has to make that decision for themselves, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who decided to do it towards the end of his career.
“But it becomes very difficult when players, who are in the middle of their career and have the quality to play for the best clubs in Europe, decide to make those changes.”
Kroos’ comments did not go unnoticed, with the German booed by the crowd during Sunday’s final.
It did not appear to affect him, as he played 81 minutes of his side’s dominant 4-1 win.
Responding to the jeers after the semi-finals, he appeared to sarcastically tweet: “That was fun today! Amazing crowd.”
He then wrote on Sunday: “We just won a trophy!”
After the game, Xavi claimed that he felt “destroyed” by his side’s defeat.
The 43-year-old said: “I’m embarrassed. This is not the type of match we should play, especially in a final, and against Madrid.
“As a Barça fan, I am destroyed. I’m sorry for the fanbase. This is not the type of match we should play.
“We have to improve so much. We’ve played one of the worst matches of the season.
“We lacked everything. We have to accept criticism. We were not up to par. I want to apologise.
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“Congrats to Real Madrid, a deserved win. We can’t start a final like this. We were horrible in the first 10 minutes.
“We had a lot of expectations and motivation for the match. It’s a shame.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
