Exclusive: England captain did not say any face-to-face farewells or gather belongings after being told to stay away
www.telegraph.co.uk
Harry Kane was barred from Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground in the hours before completing his £100 million move to Bayern Munich.
The club wrote, in an email, to formally tell Kane it would not be appropriate for him to return to their training ground ahead of formalising his transfer, as he waited to fly to Germany.
Tottenham’s stance also meant the club’s greatest-ever goalscorer did not get the chance to say any face-to-face goodbyes and did not pick up any of his personal possessions himself. Instead, he had to wait for them to be sent on to him and his family, who also could not access their suite at the stadium.
While the club have insisted Kane is always welcome back and that he was not given any lasting ban, the treatment of a club legend in the final hours of his Spurs career will shock some supporters who idolise the 30-year-old, who scored 280 goals for his boyhood club and earlier this year had a mural painted in his honour opposite the stadium.
Kane’s representatives have chosen not to comment on him being told to stay away from the training ground ahead of his Bayern move. The England captain has made it clear that the club and its supporters will always remain special to him and hopes to return with his family in the future.
Telegraph Sport understands that, as he waited to fly to Munich while Tottenham finalised the transfer with Bayern, Kane communicated a desire to return to training in preparation for the club’s first game of the season against Brentford.
The Harry Kane mural on Whitehall Street at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
he Harry Kane mural on Whitehall Street at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium CREDIT: Getty Images/Adrian Dennis
But Kane was verbally told it would not be appropriate for him to return to the training ground at that time, which was then reiterated in writing via an email.
Kane had not communicated a desire to say his farewells or collect his belongings, but is understood to have wanted to prepare and train normally in case the Bayern deal fell through.
But Tottenham chose to tell him to stay away and Kane did not get the chance to say any face-to-face goodbyes ahead of his move. Former team-mates and head coach Ange Postecoglou have subsequently received telephone calls and messages from the player to say his farewells and offer his thanks and best wishes.
Kane addressed Tottenham supporters directly via a video message to express his thanks on the day of his move and has made it clear that he only has fond memories of the club. He made no mention of chairman Daniel Levy in his exit video, but Spurs say the pair have communicated since and reiterate that he is remembered fondly.
It is also believed that Kane’s family could not access the suite he held at Tottenham’s stadium and had to rely on possessions being sent on along with the player’s belongings.
