Toni Kroos savages John Mikel-Obi after Super Eagles star denies fake quote

Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos has responded to fake quotes attributed to former Super Eagles midfielder John Mikel Obi despite the former Chelsea star having already debunked them.

Kroos and Mikel are both retired, renowned midfielders who have taken up microphones since leaving the game. They have both stirred the pot with controversial comments in their respective ways; however, Mikel has not made the comments that Kroos has reacted to. 

The former Trabzonspor midfielder was alleged to have called Kroos an average midfielder, attributing his success to having played for a legacy club like Real Madrid.

“Toni Kroos is an average midfielder, the fake quotes read. “I was a better player than him, to be honest. The only difference was that I didn’t play for Real Madrid, and I think we need to change this mentality of thinking anyway, player who plays for Real Madrid is better than others.”

“When you see that players like Kroos, Nacho, Carvajal and Modric won 5 UCLs, it is a bit unfair, because these players are not even close to being the best in their positions. This shows that trophies can be misleading. I can name 10 players in the same positions that are better than these footballers.”

Mikel had since debunked those quotes when they first went viral last year, tagging them as “fake news.” However, they have resurfaced on social media in the past few days.

The quotes are having a second run of virality in recent days, with Spanish outlets even translating them to audiences in that part of the world. Kroos caught wind of one such translated post, and he reacted to it on his social media platform.

He fired back pointedly, saying, "So why didn't you play for Real Madrid?" in reaction to the alleged comments from Mikel, which attributed his success to the clubs he played for. Kroos's comment suggests that playing for a top club is not a lottery and is instead a marker of quality.

Meanwhile, Kroos recently commented on Cristiano Ronaldo’s ongoing dispute with Al-Nassr’s ownership, slamming the Saudi Pro League for perceived disrespect against their main superstar.