Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has claimed that he is thriving in a more defensive role with the Spanish outfit.

The German international was very much a goalscoring midfielder during the early stages of his career, but has netted just once in 39 games for Real Madrid this season.

Kroos, however, has insisted that his role with Los Blancos is more withdrawn.

"We tend to play with three central midfielders and, at the moment, I have the more defensive role and have done since the beginning of the season. I very much enjoy playing there," Kroos told FIFA.com.

"Of course the coach sets out certain demands for playing in that position but those coincide with my own interpretation of how to play there so, in that regard, I'm delighted with how things are going.

"Over the years I've been moving further back, bit by bit, and that's fine by me. In Madrid it's important that we have the right balance. Normally we have a lot of very attack-minded players on the pitch so, for me, it's almost of secondary importance to get forward."

Kroos netted 23 times during his time at Bayern Munich.