Kroos withdrawn yet again LaLiga Santander - Real Madrid Substituted eight times since Club World Cup

Watching Toni Kroos be substituted for Real Madrid is becoming something of a habit for Los Blancos' supporters.

The German signed for Madrid in 2014 and was a key part of the side that won three successive Champions Leagues between 2015 and 2018.

There has been a lot of debate around the player's performances this season and the latest talking point is his substitution at Mestalla on Wednesday night during Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Valencia.

After 64 minutes of action, Zinedine Zidane brought off Kroos for the more attack-minded Isco in the hope of rejuvenating his side.

This season has seen a lot of changes at Los Blancos, both on the bench and on the pitch.

Kroos has been heavily involved in substitutions, getting taken off on 10 occasions so far this season.

Two of those changes came before the FIFA Club World Cup, and the first substitution of the campaign came in the UEFA Super Cup defeat to Atletico Madrid.

In Tallinn against Atletico, Kroos was taken off after 101 minutes of play, with the score at 2-2 as Madrid went on to lose 4-2 to Diego Simeone's side.

The 5-0 win over Viktoria Plzen saw Madrid take Kroos off after 73 minutes of play with the game all but over at that stage.

Since the Club World Cup, the 29-year-old has been substituted eight times - five of those against Villarreal, Real Sociedad, Levante, Barcelona and Valencia - where either Santiago Solari or Zidane were looking for a more attacking option to change the outcome of the game.

It has only been in the matches versus Al-Ain, Atletico and Real Valladolid that he was taken off to be rested.

The change made in Levante's stadium on 69 minutes with the game wide open at 1-1 didn't go down well with the German, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with his frequent substitutions.

In total, he has been taken off on 50 occasions since his arrival in the summer of 2014. In his first season he was withdrawn 12 times but nine of those games were effectively over as a contest.

Last season, Zidane replaced Kroos 10 times, the same number as this season, however the notable difference being that last season the games were effectively over as a contest or he was withdrawn with just a few minutes to go. This season seven of the 10 changes came with more than a quarter of an hour to go.