…amid criticisms of woeful displays

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has hit back at critics including former Real Madrid player Bernd Schuster: “I have been successful for a long time.”
Schuster criticised his fellow countryman earlier this month after Madrid’s El Clasico defeat to Barcelona, describing his performances as like a ‘diesel tractor’.
“This kind of thing is normal if you have been successful for a very long time like I have,” Kroos told reporters.
“You are now talking about the criticism in Madrid, if you are part of the media or someone who gives their opinion and you can’t find anything negative for three years then you are waiting for this kind of moment to fire things up.
“I am the last person that has a problem with it, especially with this kind of ‘criticism’.
“I have nothing against constructive criticism if you talk about moments in a certain game, but the criticism you are talking about does not have any content.
“My style of play was always the same and has not changed over the years, I have never been the player who was sprinting for 90 minutes and I have never been the guy who makes 28 tackles.”