Penny for the thoughts of Toni Kroos. Curious days, these, for the former Germany midfielder – back at work with Real Madrid, while the eyes of the world are trained elsewhere. On Qatar, where two old friends have organised a reunion without him.
On Friday afternoon, Casemiro and Luka Modric will be back on the same pitch, for the first time since the Brazilian joined Manchester United, breaking up the finest midfield of recent times.
Together with Kroos, Casemiro and Modric conquered all at the Bernabeu. They formed the bedrock of a Madrid side that won four of the past seven Champions League finals, resisting between them both national stereotypes and the clutches of Father Time.