Harry Kane expects to sign a new Bayern Munich contract "within the next few days" — and the Ballon d'Or winner told reporters in Madrid on Monday that he would trade football's biggest individual prize for a Champions League winner's medal with Bayern.
The England captain was speaking ahead of Tuesday's league-phase visit to Atletico Madrid, the game that could also see him equal Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring in 11 straight Champions League matches. Kane's current deal runs until June 2027, but he revealed that talks over an extension have accelerated over the weekend and are now down to the lawyers.
"More days than weeks"
"I would say it is more (a matter of) days," Kane said at the press conference, in quotes reported by PA. "There has been good conversations over this weekend and today as well. I know I keep saying we are close, but we are extremely close now. Details are just details in every contract.
"A lot of the bigger stuff has been ironed out and we are happy with, but in every contract there is loads of little things that go into it, small details that in the end the lawyers have to thrash out and figure out. So all in all I would say it is more days than weeks. From what I have heard, the conversations have gone well again today and hopefully we will be in a place to do something within the next few days."
The 33-year-old joined Bayern from Tottenham in the summer of 2023 and scored 73 goals for club and country last season, winning two trophies in Germany and leading England to third place at the World Cup before being crowned the world's best player in London last week, ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
"I would choose the Champions League"
For all that, Kane was clear about what he wants next. "Team trophies are why we play football. The team aspect of our sport is really, really important," he told reporters in the Spanish capital, via theScore. "The Ballon d'Or last week was one of the best feelings I've had in my life and my career... but to have moments with the team, celebrations with the club, to be able to lift the Champions League with Bayern would be an incredible feeling.
"I would choose the Champions League, but I have the opportunity to do both — let's see what happens."
Tuesday's venue carries history for Kane: the Metropolitano is where he lost the 2019 Champions League final with Tottenham against Liverpool, and it hosts this season's final. "You have good memories in stadiums, sometimes you don't — hopefully we can have a good memory tomorrow," he added. "I play again here next week with England against Spain, and then hopefully at the end of the year we're back again for the Champions League final. So I have a chance and we have a chance to erase that painful memory from 2019 for sure."
Atletico coach Diego Simeone had called Kane an "incredible player" and "very good for football" before the match. "I'd like to thank Diego Simeone, who is one of the best coaches of this era," Kane replied. "I'm proud to receive praise from someone like him... but Simeone will do everything he can to stop me and the team tomorrow."
So what does it mean?
A new deal settled this week removes the one cloud over Bayern's season just as their European campaign needs lift-off: Bayern have won only one of their first three league-phase games, drawing with Arsenal and Viking, and Kane's personal record chase adds another layer to Tuesday night. There was also better news on the injury front that has dominated Bayern's build-up. Assistant coach Aaron Danks, standing in for Vincent Kompany in the Belgian's absence through illness, said Michael Olise and Manuel Neuer were both available after injury issues — a major easing of the crisis that had threatened to strip Bayern's attack bare for the trip.
Kompany was released from hospital last week after five days following a collapse in training and a diagnosis of meningeal irritation, and Danks insisted little would change in his absence: "The most important part of my role in Vinny's absence is to protect everything that we've built over the last two and a half years. It's to protect the processes that we've put in place, to protect the identity of the team."
Beyond the Final Whistle: Kane has spent three years being told the Ballon d'Or would complete him. In Madrid he said the opposite — the individual crown is already his, and the only thing left worth chasing is the team prize that beat him in this very stadium in 2019. If he signs this week and scores on Tuesday, Bayern's season changes in 48 hours. Would you trade a Ballon d'Or for a Champions League medal? Let us know in the comments.
