‘I want to be fighting for titles,’ Harry Kane explains move to Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich's CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and Harry Kane pose for photos after the England captain signed for the German Bundesliga club. Photo: Christof Stache/AFP

Bayern Munich's CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and Harry Kane pose for photos after the England captain signed for the German Bundesliga club. Photo: Christof Stache/AFP

Published Aug 13, 2023

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Harry Kane said on Sunday his desire to end a personal quest for silverware was behind the decision to join German giants Bayern Munich from Tottenham.

Kane left Spurs in a deal worth an initial €100 million ($110 million, £86 million) on Saturday after spending his whole career with his boyhood club.

The 30-year-old leaves as Tottenham's record goalscorer with 280 goals and is also England's all-time top scorer at international level.

However, he is yet to win a single trophy for club or country.

Tottenham's eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last season meant Kane was also facing a season without European football had he stayed in north London.

"I think I've always said in my career I've wanted to keep improving, keep pushing myself to you know my limits and see how far that can take me," said Kane at a press conference at Bayern's Allianz Arena.

"Ultimately I wanted to be playing at the highest level, I wanted to be playing in the Champions league, I wanted to be fighting for titles every year.

"So to come to Bayern Munich, one of the biggest clubs in the world, goes with that opportunity so I'm looking forward to that challenge."

Bayern have won the Bundesliga for the past 11 years.

But they were seeking a world class striker to compete once more for Champions League glory.

And Kane is eyeing a dream return to England for next season's Champions League final at Wembley.

"Joining this club was to try and win the Champions league," added Kane. "The prospect of trying to win it at Wembley would be amazing for me personally of course.

"I'm not going to lie, so we'll have to see how the season goes first and hopefully we can we can manage to achieve that."

Previous attempts at trying to lure him away from Tottenham have been rebuffed by the club's chairman, Daniel Levy, who is a notoriously tough negotiator in transfer deals.

However, Levy's hand was weakened by the fact that Kane had only one year left on his contract, meaning he could have left next year on a free transfer.

"This is kind of my first real of my first transfer that I've been involved in so yeah it was an up and down experience for sure," said Kane on the weeks of negotiations between the clubs.

"But I'm happy to be here now. I said yesterday and on my social media posting I wish Tottenham all the best, I wish Daniel Levy all the best but my focus is here now and trying to help this team."

Kane's Bayern career got off to an inauspicious start as he was a second-half substitute in a 3-0 German Super Cup defeat to Leipzig on Saturday.

He is expected to make his first start when the Bundesliga season begins on Friday as Bayern travel to Werder Bremen.

AFP