MADRID, April 21 (Bernama-dpa) -- Former Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said sport stars should pull together to do what they can in "crazy" times after he received the special Sporting Inspiration Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
The award honours achievements that go beyond sporting success. The 36-year-old founded the Toni Kroos Foundation in 2015, which supports seriously ill children and hospices that care for them across Germany.
The 2014 World Cup winner was presented with the prize, which is rarely awarded at the illustrious annual event, at the Palacio de Cibeles in Madrid on Monday.
The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich player is only the fourth recipient of the award, which was first presented in 2017.
"I think it is very important to present these values because ... I think we can see that things are going crazy in the world," he told the audience of sport stars, referring to various wars and other issues.
"If we stand together for the right values, for the right things, for peace, for respect, I think we can achieve a lot because other things we can't control, but we can control ourselves."
A football academy named after him was also opened in Madrid in 2024 and, according to Laureus, offers a training programme based on respect, responsibility, and personal development.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
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