Toni Kroos claims Real Madrid players would have laughed at Flick

Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos is always good for a straight opinion on matters in the footballing world, and the retired World Cup-winner has once again made headlines for his contributions to the podcast ‘Einfach mal Luppen’, which he hosts with his brother, Felix Kroos. This time the two were debating the contrast between Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and the methods employed by Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid.

While Flick made an impact at Barcelona for his personable approach, there was no doubt that one of the things he brought to the table was discipline. In particular, when it came to punctuality. On three separate occasions, Jules Kounde was dropped for arriving late to team meetings, while Inaki Pena was also benched for the same reason.

Kroos believes Real Madrid players ‘would have laughed’

Kroos and Flick worked together during the latter’s time as assistant manager at the German national team, and again when he took the senior job. He was familiar with

“With Hansi, some players have been left out of the team for being late to a meeting. This has happened several times at Barca,” Sport quoted.

“They’re different philosophies. At Real Madrid, they would have laughed. Often, you didn’t know who was going to be later, the player or the coach. It’s a different mentality, not letting someone play because they’re five minutes late to a meeting.”

However Kroos did not declare which he felt was better in his eyes.

“They’re just different. They’re both good. You could say Flick’s is typical of Germany.”

Hansi Flick will call up Ibrahim Diarra for pre-season. The coach wants to see the 18-year-old Malian striker from up close. @tomasandreu68, @monfortcarlos pic.twitter.com/PLdm62uGbQ

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 12, 2025

Xabi Alonso’s approach at Real Madrid

It is a subject that could be of interest at Valdebebas this season though. Xabi Alonso has arrived at Real Madrid, and was part of the most expensive dressing room in history while there. Yet the Basque manager has spent significant time in Germany both as a manager and a player – one of Alonso’s first messages to the squad was that he wanted 200% from his players.