Toni Kroos has revealed how he turned to alcohol immediately after Bayern Munich’s defeat to Chelsea in the 2012 Champions League final.

The midfielder, who now plays for Real Madrid, was attempting to numb the pain of the defeat to the Premier League side, who triumphed on penalties in the final at Bayern’s own Allianz Arena.

The Bavarians, who were red-hot favourites going into the match, were ahead in the match with just a few minutes remaining after Thomas Muller netted the opener after 83 minutes.

Didier Drogba dragged the London club into the match at the death heading home from a corner kick, with the former Ivory Coast international scoring the last penalty kick after the extra-time to hand Chelsea their first-ever Champions League trophy.

Speaking on the Einfach mal Luppen podcast, Kroos’s brother Felix recalled: “The Champions League final against Chelsea in 2012 – that was us drinking out of frustration. We were close to needing an emergency doctor!”

To which the Madrid star replied: “It was not a good thing but at least there was a reason for it. I remember that Jessi (Kroos’s wife Jessica) then said: ‘We can’t do that (call a doctor) now. Imagine if it came out that I called an emergency doctor for having too much to drink!’

“There was no other way [to ease the pain of defeat]. In the end I had to call the emergency doctor myself because I thought: ‘It can’t be allowed to get worse than this.’”

Photo Credit: Twitter @ realmadriden