As of: March 6, 2024, 6:22 a.m
By: Philipp Kessler, Manuel Bonke
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The Icon League by Toni Kroos and streamer Elias Nerlich, which will take place from late summer, is causing a stir.
Most recently with the signing of Franck Ribéry.
Munich - Movie-worthy action in the Allianz Arena.
Starring: Franck Ribéry (40)!
Ribery hides from fans for announcement video
In the late afternoon of February 23rd, the Bayern legend returned to his old place of work.
Nobody should notice this.
Supporters who were being guided through the stadium in Fröttmaning as part of a tour were not allowed to see Ribéry under any circumstances.
Whenever danger was imminent, the fan favorite would hide in a corner in the catacombs or in the TV studio.
Reason for the secrecy: Ribéry shot an announcement video for his football comeback on the lawn of the Allianz Arena, which was announced on Sunday evening - in the hyped Icon League.
The former offensive star, who ended his professional career with the Italian first division club Salernitana in October 2022, will be a teamhead in the football league founded by Real star Toni Kroos (34) and Elias Nerlich (26), the most successful German streamer .
It starts in late summer.
“Franck is an absolute royal transfer for the Icon League,” says Kroos, who played with Ribéry at FC Bayern until 2014.
“He was always up for a joke and when things got important he was always totally focused with a brutal will to win – we want all of that in the Icon League too, so Franck is a perfect fit for us.”
Toni Kroos recruits stars for Icon League
National team returnee Kroos picked up the phone himself to recruit players for his league.
He is an active designer and doer, discusses and questions ideas.
That works: In addition to Real defender David Alaba (31), his friend Ribéry is now also there.
“Franck continues to raise the level that we want to offer with the Icon League.
It stands for wit, good entertainment in the stadium and success.
“It just fits,” says Nerlich happily.
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But what exactly is the Icon League?
“Classic football, the way I play and love it, will always exist and will continue to inspire and electrify people all over the world,” said Kroos in the league’s official press release a few months ago.
“There are a large number of fans who are also interested in a different format of football.
Here's to a faster, more varied, more action-packed, more eventful game in which there can suddenly be unforeseen twists and turns.
Here’s to football with more goals and entertainment.
And that’s exactly what we’re going to offer.” The game is played in five-on-five mode.
Exact details are not yet known.
The French Franck Ribéry becomes team head in the Icon League.
© Andreas Gebert/dpa
Icon League is enjoying great popularity even before its launch
In any case, the fact is: The Icon League is already electrifying the fans.
Within hours of the announcement in November, almost 250,000 followers followed the official Instagram page.
The accompanying video, which Kroos and Nerlich uploaded on November 6th, went viral.
Kroos' former teammates like Marcelo (66.8 million followers) and Casemiro (22.2 million followers) shared it immediately.
Alaba (14.5 million followers), basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki (1.1 million followers) and Sergio Ramos (62.2 million followers) also shared it.
The film reached twenty times as many people as “Wetten, dass…” at its best.