The Bayern Munich striker addressed the ruling after the loss, acknowledging that news of a Premier League commission finding City guilty of all but one of the 115 financial charges had come up between players.

“There was a discussion, but at the end of the day when we’re with England, that’s been a big plus for us, we kind of put club football to one side, and it was no different this week,” Harry Kane told reporters.

Three City players started for England: defender Marc Guehi, full-back Nico O’Reilly and midfielder Elliot Anderson. Former City goalkeeper James Trafford was also in the squad. Errors involving Guehi and O’Reilly helped Spain complete a comeback from 2-1 down, but Kane rejected any suggestion that the City news had a bearing on how they played.

Tuchel takes the same line

Head coach Thomas Tuchel accepted that the story would circulate among the players, without conceding it had shaped the performance.

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“For the players, they have more time than me, so for sure I can imagine that they talk about it but it’s good that they do and I didn’t feel them distracted,” Tuchel said.

Asked whether the ruling had troubled him personally, the German added: “Not for me but I can imagine maybe for the Manchester City players. I will not comment on that.”

The ruling behind the conversation

City’s punishment file is the largest in Premier League history. British media reported the outcome the day before England’s Spain fixture, and the league subsequently confirmed that an independent commission had found the club guilty of 114 of the 115 charges: 80 alleged breaches of financial regulations between 2009 and 2018, and 35 counts of failing to co-operate with the investigation.

The club said it was “disappointed and surprised” and would be “relentless” in pursuing an appeal. No sanction has been set. The outcomes on the table range from points deductions and fines to stripped titles or, at the extreme, relegation. City have until Friday to lodge the appeal.

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Spain punish the penalty miss

Kane’s own contribution at Wembley shaped the match too. Lamine Yamal put Spain 1-0 up inside two minutes before Anthony Gordon and a Marc Cucurella own goal from Kane’s header gave England a 2-1 lead by the interval, according to the Sky Sports match report.

Kane could have made it 3-1 from the spot in the 54th minute after Rodri fouled Jude Bellingham, but slipped as he struck and clipped the ball onto the crossbar. Alex Baena equalised six minutes later and Mikel Oyarzabal turned the game in the 74th, extending Spain’s unbeaten run to 39 official matches.

“We reached good levels in the World Cup but didn’t put a full 90 mins together. Similar today. We went toe to toe with Spain. On another day we would have won,” Kane said afterwards.

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