Toni Kroos has spoken on his podcast about several current football topics, including Ousmane Dembélé being substituted during Luis Enrique’s side’s Champions League victory over Bayern Munich.

The former Real Madrid midfielder praised the reaction of the French forward after being taken off despite his importance to the team. “He takes off the best player in the world after 65 minutes and leaves, that's fine. He shakes his hand and then encourages his teammates from the bench.”

Kroos then reflected on the authority and management style of Luis Enrique. “Why did he take him off? Because he saw that he was exhausted and that Doué and Kvaratskhelia were playing better that day, so he took him off. Period.”

Without naming anyone directly, Kroos appeared to compare that attitude with situations often seen at other major clubs. “Nobody complains. And that shows a lot about the respect a coach has. How a coach like that achieves something like that and, above all, how he demonstrates that he makes the right decisions.”

The German also praised Dembélé’s attitude after leaving the pitch. “You see how he shouts to his teammates to move forward, from the bench. And not like 90 percent of the others who think they are the stars of their teams: starting to make gestures on the field and then sitting on the bench like a sulking sausage.”

Kroos concluded by highlighting the collective mentality created by Luis Enrique. “It's in these details that I see what he's done with this team and with world-class players, how he's managed to mold them. That's why I'm happy; it's a team success.”

He also reserved praise for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: “He works like crazy and continues to be a world-class player.”

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