A lot of clubs want to win the Champions League.
— Toni Kroos
You need to beat the best, and it's a great challenge, and I like that.
You can't win any games in the Spanish league by giving only seventy or eighty per cent. You always have to step on the gas.
If you have the quality, you can only improve as a young player through match practice. That seems obvious, and it's proven to be true in my case.
When you come to a hotel where everything is brand new, it's logical that not everything works.
Those who know me best know that my opinions don't change with the wind.
It is always tough, always difficult playing against Klopp's teams.
I celebrated great successes alongside exceptional players like Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni, and Franck Ribery.
Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world. They are a cut above Bayern.
I'm happy at Real Madrid and can imagine ending my career here - if all goes well.
Everyone has their special strength. And my strength is to have the ball and start good things with it.
At Real Madrid, you have to win everything.
Individual achievements are not important for me, to be honest.
Emotions always play a part, especially on Champions League nights at the Bernabeu.
Sure, it's nice to get appreciation from the outside. But generally, I don't think personal accolades are appropriate in football.
New stimuli can come from the same coach if he questions himself.
In England and Germany, perhaps, there is more of a focus on the physical side of the game, in breaking down the opposition's play, especially against the lower placed sides.
I have played at the Bernabeu twice with Bayern Munich, and it was a magnificent experience.
Before leaving, I was seen as a good player, perhaps as a very good player, but as one of the many players that Bayern had. But if you play as a Real footballer, you get even more attention. Maybe that part from the fans I do not like so much.
Madrid are a great club and were the challenge I sought after my long and successful Bayern career.
In my opinion, it's only logical that you have to be on the pitch and playing as often as possible to develop further. That's just an absolute basic requirement.
When you have lived through something as magical as the 2014 World Cup final, you want to relive that experience as many times as possible.
You always work toward a big goal. Once you achieved it, it's not that easy. You need a few days. Like winning the Champions League - season over, goal achieved. The pressure drops.
It is impossible to play 60 games all season and be in good form all the time.
My biggest aim of all is to win trophies with Real Madrid.
There's little place for sympathy in football.
Guardiola and I have the same idea of football.
The best example is the NBA, with high intensity and long breaks. During the season, the NBA teams play every three days. That's a lot, and they also travel far. But from the end of May until October, they have their break.
I can't see myself playing as a 36-year-old.
I always think about my future. That's part of my job.
I want to win trophies in the summer and not accolades in the winter.
I think, at 32, you are past your prime as a footballer.
There will always be different opinions. Some might argue you should retire after a big success and others that the best time is after a big defeat.
The Spanish and German leagues are of a very high standard. Along with the Premier League, they are probably the best.
I am very proud to be at Madrid. It's something very special, and also to step out into the Bernabeu wearing the Madrid shirt for the first time was a fantastic feeling. The fans gave me a wonderful reception.
A friendly relationship with the coach is important for each player.
I like playing deeper, but I'm not Casemiro.
I enjoy playing football, and that's about it. I'm no-one special.
When you have been working so hard to reach a specific goal and then you realise that ambition, it's not always easy to raise yourself for another objective.
With Bayern Munich, we had a lot of problems against Dortmund, always.
Whether I play five or 10 metres forward or back does not change my way of playing, to be on the ball a lot.
Since I took the decision at the age of 16 to join Bayern, I have been proud every single day to have been part of this amazing club.
I enjoyed six marvellous years at Bayern winning many titles, but the fact is I don't plan on playing in Germany ever again.
In the end, it's like that: The more I possess the ball, the more dominant we play, and the more often we win.
I'm used to the feeling of playing in a team with high individual quality.
I don't sign contracts on a whim.
Of course it's special when you play against a team you represented for six or seven years.
I would not swap the World Cup title for any accolade. But I could imagine that quite a few would swap every accolade for a World Cup title.
Coaches are always important for players.
It's possible that I will leave the Bundesliga at some point.
