After the Ballon d’Or: Hasan Salihamidzic has one last task for Harry Kane at Bayern Munich
Hasan Salihamidzic has now joined those congratulating Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane. The former Bayern Munich board member for sport also gave the star striker a clear task for the road ahead.
"I am very happy for Harry Kane and Bayern Munich. His season was world-class. Harry is a role model on and off the pitch. Every young player can look up to him," Salihamidzic said in an interview with Sky/RTL.
Kane was "not just a ruthless goalscorer. He puts himself at the service of the team, he can play the killer pass, and he tracks back." That all-round game recently prompted Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp to make a cryptic remark about the point of Kane's work in his deeper role.
Playing in that "quarterback" role did nothing to slow Kane's scoring rate. The Englishman remained an outstanding leader and role model throughout his remarkable 2025/26 season (73 goals in 65 games), and deservedly won the most coveted individual award in world football on Monday evening.
In the vote of the 100 specialist journalists eligible to cast a ballot, Kane narrowly beat Kylian Mbappe. According to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia, Mbappe had still led the rankings just a few weeks before the decision. Lamine Yamal finished third. Kane is the German record champions' first Ballon d'Or winner since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
Salihamidzic hopes Kane wins the Champions League
Salihamidzic and Kane just missed each other at Bayern Munich. The 33-year-old top striker joined the club in the summer of 2023, a few months after "Brazzo" had been relieved of his duties as board member for sport on the day of the final match of the 2022/23 season. Unlike CEO Oliver Kahn, who was also dismissed, he still travelled with the team to Cologne and celebrated their last-minute German league title triumph there.
Speaking on Doppelpass on Sport1 back in May, Salihamidzic revealed that everything had since been resolved with his former club, particularly with honorary president Uli Hoeneß. At first, he had "my problems, because I was genuinely involved with all my heart. That's why it perhaps took me a little longer to recover from it," Salihamidzic said. But he had talked things through with Hoeneß over a game of "Schafkopf". "After two hours, he also apologised to me. So, as far as I'm concerned, that's settled. I'm glad I was able to play and work for this club," the Bosnian said at the time.
His feelings towards Bayern Munich have not changed, and he still wishes his former club nothing but the best. "Brazzo" has one final task for Kane at Bayern Munich, one the star striker has yet to fulfil. Kane should bring "the Champions League back to Munich".
After Monday evening's gala in London, Kane himself named winning the Champions League with Bayern and a title with the England national team as his last major goals and made them his absolute priority.
And Salihamidzic? He announced his return to professional football back in May. The 49-year-old said he was "ready" for a new job. He has not said exactly what he has in mind and still has no official position at a new club.
