The former national striker Max Kruse will probably no longer appear in the Bundesliga for the time being, at least not as a player. Kruse himself also has completely different ambitions: he would like to work far away. But there is a problem.

Soccer player Max Kruse, who is currently without a club, has confirmed his desire to emigrate to the United States. “I don’t know if it’s forever, but I love America as a country, I love the mentality,” said the 34-year-old former international in a video interview with Youtuber Leeroy Matata. “My English is actually quite good, very good. I can make myself understood, it’s gotten better over the years. It wasn’t that good at school,” added Kruse.

The attacking player has long been linked with a move to Major League Soccer (MLS) in North America as his 11-year-old son lives in Florida. “If you’re in America every year, sometimes for six weeks. At some point you just learn it,” said Kruse.

His wife, Dilara Kruse, said in the video that she loves her current place of residence in Berlin and does not want to emigrate to the United States. “It’s not that far yet. He knows that I would come with him, but will I be happy then? Well, I wouldn’t want it, but I have to, he’s my husband,” she said. It is conceivable for Max Kruse to live in both places. “I can also well imagine not commuting, but sharing my residence. So half in America, half here,” he said.

Ex-Bundesliga player Steven Cherundolo had already raved about the skills of the retired attacker in the fall. “A player with such qualities should be an issue for every team. Also for LAFC,” said the coach of the US soccer first division club Los Angeles FC and ex-professional from Hannover 96 of the “Bild am Sonntag”. The 43-year-old trains the veterans Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini, among others. Kruse could play a major role in the USA and, at least Lutz Pfannenstiel is convinced of that, would be well received by the public. “Max can become one of the superstars in the USA,” the German sports director of the MLS club St. Louis City SC told the “Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung” in August.

The retired attacker had mutually terminated the contract with his former club, Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, in November. At the beginning of September, Kruse was sorted out by coach Niko Kovac and has not played a game for the wolves since then. The VfL officials accused him of a lack of professionalism and thus a bad influence on the rest of the team. In terms of sport, Kruse’s absence in Wolfsburg had not been noticed at all in the past few games. After a bumpy start to the season, the club had stabilized under Kovac and won five of the last eight Bundesliga games.

(This article was first published on Wednesday, January 04, 2023.)