MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Harry Kane’s move from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich on a four-year deal on Saturday may have raised eyebrows with the England captain leaving the world’s richest league for the Bundesliga, but both sides hope it will be a match made in heaven.
The Bavarians have long been the dominant force in Germany, backed by the biggest budget in the league.
With a turnover in 2022 of more than 665 million euros ($731 million), they dwarf all other Bundesliga clubs, including last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund who had about half that.
Bayern have won the last 11 Bundesliga titles while also clinching the Champions League in 2020, their most recent of six European Cup wins.
With a sold-out Allianz Arena in almost every match of the season, they enjoy massive support well beyond Munich.
But the past two seasons have been far from glittering, with the league the only major title Bayern have managed to win.
Last term, following the departure of scoring machine Robert Lewandowski, who ended his eight-season stay at Bayern to join Barcelona, the German side were beaten in the Champions League quarter-finals by eventual winners Manchester City.
They paid the price for not having an out-and-out striker, and they were lucky to retain the Bundesliga title after Dortmund unexpectedly failed to win their final match.
Bayern now hope the arrival of Kane will change all that.
The striker, who has spent his career at Tottenham after joining at 11, has scored a club record 280 goals in over 430 appearances in all competitions and 58 times for his country in 84 games, making him England’s all-time record marksman.
He is also the second-highest Premier League scorer of all time with 213 goals – 47 behind Alan Shearer.
These statistics are music to the ears of Bayern’s bosses, who hope Kane can lead them back to European glory despite his hefty price tag – reportedly a Bundesliga record 100 million euros.
For Kane himself the move could finally be the path towards winning titles with a club.
Despite his scoring prowess, Kane failed to win any major titles at Spurs, with the Champions League final in 2019 his greatest achievement.
With Tottenham not featuring in any European competition this season, the 30-year-old’s decision is driven by his hunger for trophies with time running out.
($1 = 0.9096 euros)
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
