Kroos attacks "embarrassing" Saudi transfer as Liverpool target leaves La Liga

24 August 2023 , 09:00

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Gabri Veiga has left Celta Vigo to join Al-Ahli (Image: Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has described Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga’s impending transfer to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli as “embarrassing”.

Veiga enjoyed a breakout season at the top-flight Spanish club last campaign and was strongly linked with a move to Liverpool this summer. However, in recent weeks it appeared that he was on the verge of joining Italian champions Napoli – who had struck a £30million agreement with Celta.

However, the deal stalled over the past week and with Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski’s proposed switch to the Middle East also breaking down, Al-Ahli have swooped to land Veiga. It represents a significant coup for the Saudi club.

Based in Jeddah, they have been one of the most active Saudi clubs in the summer transfer window. A multitude of Euro-based players have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer in a concentrated recruitment drive by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the nation funding transfers.

Roberto Firmino, Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessie, Allan Saint-Maximin, Merih Demiral, Riyad Mahrez and Roger Ibanez have all left European clubs for Al-Ahli this summer, but the acquisition of Veiga – aged 21 and in demand across Europe’s top leagues, is eye-catching.

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Madrid midfielder Kroos has spoken out against the move, writing under a transfer post from Fabrizio Romano on social media that Veiga’s switch to the Middle East was “embarrassing” – a clear hint that he believed the Spaniard was making a big mistake.

Kroos, 33, has played at the top level of European football for the entirety of his career. He spent seven years in the first-team squad at Bayern Munich before joining Real Madrid in 2014, where he has been an integral part of the team for nine years.

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Kroos labelled Veiga's decision to move to Saudi Arabia as "embarrassing" on social media (Instagram)

Having also won 106 caps for the German national team – with whom he won the World Cup in 2014 – Kroos has ensured he has played in football’s most prestigious tournaments across the entirety of his career and is not shy in expressing his views on the direction of the sport.

The central midfielder, regarded as one of the most technically gifted and positionally aware midfielders of a generation, has frequently spoken about his desire to retire at Real Madrid and to hang up his boots when he believed he could no longer operate at the top level.

Colin Millar