Toni Kroos is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he is known for his vision, passing, creativity, crossing and set-piece ability. Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in his career.

In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity and passing ability.