Toni Kroos set another UEFA Champions League (UCL) in his final match in club football, between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Kroos became the German with most UCL appearances, getting level with compatriot Thomas Muller, with both having 151 appearances each, as he was named in the starting eleven by coach Carlo Ancelotti in the summit clash.
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Only five players have made over 100 appearances in the Champions League and unsurprisingly, they have all players for Bayern -- the most successful team from German in the UCL -- at some point of their careers.
MOST UCL APPEARANCES BY GERMAN PLAYERS
- 151: Toni Kroos (Bayern, Real Madrid)
- 151: Thomas Müller (Bayern)
- 140: Manuel Neuer (Schalke, Bayern)
- 114: Philipp Lahm (Bayern, Stuttgart)
- 107: Oliver Kahn (Bayern)
- 99: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern, Manchester United)
- 96: Michael Ballack (Kaiserslautern, Leverkusen, Bayern, Chelsea)
- 87: Jérôme Boateng (Bayern)
Muller and Kroos, both of whom grew up at the youth academy of Bayern Munich, followed different trajectories in senior team football, with the latter moving to the Spanish capital for more game time while Muller established himself as a veteran at Bayern, becoming the most decorated German footballer with 33 trophies.
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Kroos, on the other hand, became one of Real Madrid’s legends in the modern era, winning 22 titles in 463 games, which include four Champions League titles, as many UEFA Super Cups and Spanish Super Cups, five Club World Cups, four European Super Cups, four La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey.
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