Harry Kane completes transfer to FC Bayern: New star striker ready for Supercup

Munich (dpa)

08/12/2023 – 3:29 p.m

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Plays for FC Bayern from now on: Harry Kane.

Photo: Robert Michael/dpa

The change of the English goalscorer Harry Kane to FC Bayern is fixed. There was a lot of laughter in training before the Supercup.

After the tough exchange poker, Harry Kane was impatient and flirted with Bayern’s first goals in the Supercup.

“Honestly, I can’t wait to show my qualities on the pitch, hopefully score a lot of goals and make the fans happy,” said Bayern Munich’s new star striker. England’s national team captain announced in a club video: “In all likelihood, I will be in the Supercup and hopefully be able to play.”

Completed the first training before the Supercup

At the final training before the Supercup game in the evening (8:45 p.m.) between the German soccer champions and DFB Cup winners RB Leipzig, 30-year-old Kane was warmly welcomed by his new teammates and had to run through an alley like the birthday boy Matthijs de Ligt, in who both got slaps on the back from the other players while laughing.

Almost eleven hours before the first competitive game of the Bundesliga club from Munich, the official announcement of the multi-million transfer was made by the clubs. “I’m very happy to be part of FC Bayern now,” said Kane. “FC Bayern is characterized by its winning culture – it feels very good to be here.” With emotional words, the 30-year-old said goodbye to the fans of his previous club Tottenham Hotspur almost at the same time.

Kane: Change is “time”

“I wanted to be the first to tell you Tottenham fans that I’m leaving the club today,” said the English football star in a video posted to his Instagram account. The farewell was very emotional for him, and he was sad to leave the club where he spent almost 20 years of his life – “from eleven-year-old boy to 30-year-old man,” as he put it. But: “I had the feeling that it was time to go.”

For Bayern, several weeks of poker for the most expensive purchase in Bundesliga history ended on the day of the first competitive game. “It was a long process, but now we are all the happier that Harry Kane will wear the FC Bayern Munich jersey from now on,” said Jan-Christian Dreesen, FC Bayern CEO.

Bavaria goes “all in”

The attacker was “our absolute dream player right from the start”, “who fits perfectly with us and the DNA of the club in terms of sport and character”. And Bayern went to their limits for Kane. “Of course we stretched ourselves to the ceiling. We went all-in for a bit. But of course always within a framework of economic reason. It’s part of our DNA,” said Dreesen.

There were hardly any bad words against the striker in England. Kane did it “decently”: “He didn’t move to another English club. Not to Manchester City. Or worse to Arsenal or Chelsea. He goes to Bayern. Every Spurs fan should be able to live with that,” said the Guardian.

Prestigious jersey number

And “The Independent” wrote: “It’s an honor to be Bayern’s number nine, succeeding Gerd Müller, Jürgen Klinsmann and Robert Lewandowski, the player he most directly replaces. That will do Kane good, especially as one of the very few English players going abroad.”

It was with a heavy heart that Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur let their record scorer go. For a long time, attempts were made to tie the star player to the Spurs with both short and long-term contract extensions, club boss Daniel Levy explained in a club statement. “However, Harry has made it clear that he wanted a new challenge and will not be signing a new contract this summer. We reluctantly agreed to his transfer.”

Most expensive transfer in the Bundesliga

The 30-year-old is said to cost more than 100 million euros, making it the first transfer of this size in the Bundesliga. According to media reports, Tottenham will receive up to 120 million euros including bonus payments. In addition, there is said to be an annual salary of 25 million euros for the centre-forward. The previous record holder was Frenchman Lucas Hernández, who FC Bayern signed from Atlético Madrid in 2019 for 80 million euros.

“The transfer required tenacity, bite and perseverance,” commented Bayern President Herbert Hainer. “Harry Kane will not only strengthen FC Bayern, but will also look good on the entire Bundesliga.” Official information on the financial volume of the XXL transfer was not available.

Ex-national player Stefan Effenberg welcomes Kane’s change, but at the same time criticizes the high transfer fee. “Just because of his age, he just turned 30, he’s actually not worth 100 million more,” wrote the former Bayern professional in his column for the news portal “t-online” (Saturday).

Eberl applauds

Meanwhile, there was applause from the competition. “Harry Kane is the captain of the England national team and one of the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorers. Such access gives the league prestige,” said Leipzig sports director Max Eberl of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

Kane had arrived in Bavaria on a private plane on Friday evening. Immediately after arrival, the medical check-up began in a Munich hospital. The modalities of the change were previously negotiated. The English center forward should be an adequate replacement in Munich for Robert Lewandowski (34), who switched to FC Barcelona a year ago.

Hope for Champions League success

In Munich, Kane in the jersey with the 9 with goals should ensure that Bayern fight for the titles in all competitions in the coming season, especially in the Champions League. Kane had done all of Tottenham’s pre-season and is physically fit. Tuchel had declared all options open on Friday, i.e. a place in the squad, starting eleven and coming on as a substitute in the Supercup.

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