Harry Kane played 13 seasons at Tottenham Hotspur, becoming the club’s all-time top scorer, but Joe Cole thinks he made one big mistake.
While Kane’s record in the Premier League stacks up against the greatest strikers to have graced the competition, there is a feeling among Spurs fans that only since his switch to Bayern Munich has the Tottenham legend finally been getting the credit that he has long deserved.
The England captain has amassed 124 goal contributions in just 102 appearances for the Bavarian side, proving without any doubt that he belongs in the conversation with the best players in the world.
His brace against Chelsea saw him break a unique record, with Kane becoming just the third player to score 20 or more Champions League goals for two different clubs.
Joe Cole questions why Harry Kane stayed at Tottenham for so long
Cole believes that the 32-year-old should have left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a club competing for the biggest trophies two or three years before he eventually did.
The former Chelsea man suggested that when Kane eventually decided to leave in 2023, Bayern was his only viable option and that the move turned out to be the perfect fit.
Cole told TNT Sports: “I think he stayed at Tottenham maybe two or three years too long. I think he showed great service and great loyalty to the club, but ultimately outgrew the club. At the time he left – he can’t go to Arsenal or Chelsea for obvious reasons, Man United he wasn’t on the list, Man City had Erling Haaland – so there were no options in England.
“Then you look abroad, Barcelona has Lewandowski, and financially, they couldn’t afford it. Real Madrid were stacked. PSG were probably in the running. So Bayern was a great option for him, and he deserves to win trophies. It would have been an absolute travesty if Harry Kane had left his career without lifting a trophy, no matter how many goalscoring records he’s got.”
His fellow panellist Own Hargreaves added: “No disrespect to Tottenham, but he’s playing with better players [at Bayern].”
Why Kane left Spurs at exactly the right time
Kane left Tottenham after becoming the club’s record goalscorer, thus ensuring that his legacy will remain intact for many decades to come.
The former Spurs man also ensured that he is within touching distance of Alan Shearer’s Premier League record, thus giving himself a chance to return to England and break that record.
In his mind, the striker may thus feel that he left at the right time, and according to reports, Kane wants to return to the Premier League after next summer’s World Cup.