Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy confirms buy-back clause for Harry Kane

Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, has confirmed at a fans’ forum that there is a buy-back clause in the transfer of the club’s former ace striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.

Kane scored 280 goals and 64 assists in 435 games for Tottenham. He was the club’s all-time goal-scoring leader as well as their European competition appearance and goal-scoring leader. When he parted ways with the north London club, his transfer also set a record fee (100 million euros, or about $106.9 million) in Bundesliga history.

Kane, 30, signed a four-year contract with Bayern. He said he is “really happy” to see Tottenham perform well after his departure, with the club winning four of their first five games in an unbeaten start to the 2023-24 Premier League season.

“I am really happy to see the team playing the way they are and of course to see their fans happy as well is a great thing,” Kane said at a news conference on Tuesday. “I am sure they will be excited to keep that up. They have a massive game coming up, so for sure I will see how they get on over the course of the season.”

Bayern will play their first UEFA Champions League game of the season at Allianz Arena against Manchester United in Group A on Wednesday night. United were one of the clubs that were interested in him during the summer transfer window.

“Obviously over the summer I know there were some talks between a few clubs in the background, but Bayern was a team I was really interested by and really excited by, so there weren’t many other discussions,” Kane said. “Once they came in, it was between them and Tottenham to talk, and the deal got done. My focus is on here, obviously Manchester United are a great club, a really big club as well, but I decided to come here and I’m really happy I have.”

Having made five appearances for Bayern, Kane has scored four goals and provided one assist, helping the German powerhouse finish their four Bundesliga games so far with three wins and one draw. By contrast, United have lost three of their five Premier League games, making their worst start to a top domestic league season since the 1989-90 campaign.

“I felt with Manchester United there was always a lot of noise, a lot of pundits are ex-players from Manchester United and you have this legacy from Sir Alex Ferguson which creates a lot of pressure, a lot of expectation around Manchester United,” Bayern’s manager Thomas Tuchel said at the press conference.

“I would not say [United’s poor form] is an advantage for us. It’s common that little things become bigger than at other clubs. I think within, I can only assume they coach an environment where players grow and reach their top level,” Tuchel added. “That’s what we’re trying to do – instill rules and a winning culture. The results maybe doesn’t (don’t) speak the same language but the team is full of quality and the club has a winning culture. We will never underestimate that.”