“I never really had the chance.” That was Harry Kane’s blunt summary to Yahoo Sports on Monday of a move that for years sat in the background of every Tottenham transfer story: the jump to La Liga.
The Bayern Munich striker was speaking at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, hours before his side meet Atlético Madrid in the Champions League. Asked whether Spain had ever come into focus, the 33-year-old told Yahoo Sports he had been happy at Tottenham for a long time, and once the Bayern move materialised he had wanted to take it straight away.
The admission closes a theme that followed him for most of his north London career, when Real Madrid and Barcelona were routinely mentioned around his contract situation.
The “amazing” career that never happened
Kane did not pretend the idea had no pull.
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“If the opportunity arose at the right time and it was right for me, then for sure, it would have been amazing to play in Spain and play in La Liga and compete against these players,” he said.
The reigning Ballon d’Or winner, who became the first English recipient of the award in 25 years after lifting the trophy in London last month, placed the Spain conversation firmly in the past tense, telling Yahoo Sports that every player’s journey leads somewhere and that his had led him to Bayern, where he had been extremely happy.
A new Bayern deal “a matter of days” away
The reflection arrived with the contract backdrop almost resolved. Kane’s deal in Bavaria expires at the end of the season, and he told reporters that an extension is now imminent rather than open-ended.
“I would say it is more days than weeks,” Kane said. “There has been good conversations over this weekend and today as well, so we are extremely close now. Details are just details in every contract.”
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Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen had already set the tone a week earlier, saying the heavy lifting was done before the Ballon d’Or ceremony and that lawyers were working through the small print.
“We’re working on the details. That simply takes a few days. It’s normal when lawyers exchange the finer points with one another,” Dreesen said.
Reports in Germany and England point to a two-year extension that would keep Kane at the Allianz Arena until 2029, with his father and brother again handling talks on his side.
Kick-off in Madrid at 9pm local time
The next concrete step is on the pitch. Kick-off against Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid is at 9pm local time at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. The signature on Kane’s new contract, by his own timeline, is expected within days of leaving Madrid.
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