‘He was nuts’ – Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich decision slammed by Premier League legend

Michael Owen may have made some questionable transfers in his career, but that hasn’t stopped him going in two-footed on Harry Kane’s.

The former Liverpool and Manchester United striker was discussing his countryman when he tore into his decision to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich.

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Getty

Speaking with former England teammate Rio Ferdinand, Owen was naming his favourite strikers, and started off very complimentary about Kane before shifting to his decision to move to Bayern – where he won his first career trophy with the Bundesliga.

“I disagreed with him going to Germany, I still think he was nuts,” Owen began.

Ferdinand asked if winning the league offset that call, with Owen brutally responding: “Mate, and?

“You’re on the verge of being the all-time top Premier League goalscorer. You’ve got kids that are all in school. I mean, I just couldn’t see it. I don’t see it. 

“If you go and move to Celtic and win the league, are you like, ‘I changed that’? They win every year, there’s no great achievement in that. 

“A great achievement would have been being the top goalscorer ever in the Premier League. 

“That would have been unbelievable. And he could have won things along the way.”

Kane ranks second in the Premier League’s scoring list on 213 goals with only Alan Shearer ahead on 260.

Is a Bundesliga worth more than a Spurs trophy for Kane?

Given the former Spurs man’s rate of scoring he may well have topped the list in two seasons, and the debate over whether that feat is worth more than a Bundesliga title has long raged, with Bayern winning 12 out of the last 13.

Their only season without victory in that run was Kane’s first after his £88million move during the 2023/24 season when Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen took their first title.

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Bayern made amends the following year, but just weeks later Kane’s former side Spurs won their first trophy in 17 seasons with the Europa League.

That has prompted another debate over which would have mattered more to the England captain, and Ferdinand put the question to Owen.

“Yeah. Absolutely, yeah. Anyway, we digress,” confirming his opinion that a title with Spurs would have mattered more.

Why Owen adores Kane

Despite all of Owen’s criticisms of Kane’s one and only career transfer, the former England regular clearly loves everything else about him.

“Harry Kane is just lethal,” he said of the goalscorer. 

“I think he’s a brilliant finisher. I love him. I think he is lethal. He’s got balls of steel under pressure. 

Ferdinand Presents

Ferdinand Presents

“Penalties are a big thing now, especially a couple of years ago when any flick off a hand was a handball. 

“Penalties are happening so often. You’ve got to have a great penalty taker. He is unbelievable. He’s got a presence. I do like him. I think he’s been brilliant over the years.”

Kylian Mbappe is the best player in the world

As one of the game’s great strikers and the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner, Owen’s opinions on the position fascinated Ferdinand.

Reserving special praise for Ollie Watkins who ‘could be top class’ and the ‘lethal’ Erling Haaland, Owen had little doubt about the best in the world.

“Well, is Kylian Mbappe a number nine?” he responded to Ferdinand’s question. 

“To me, he’s the best in the world. I think [the best player too], yeah. 

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“In the most pressure, he can take a game away from someone. Mbappe, he’s got the ability to embarrass you. 

“If he gets you out wide, he’s got a bit of skill, his touch is brilliant, he’s raw pace, he can finish, he can take the game away. 

“Somebody that can take a game away from you through brilliance has got to be the best.”