“I was afraid”: Bayern Munich superstar Harry Kane feared for his career

By winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, Harry Kane has definitively reached the pinnacle of world football. Yet his path to the top was far from straightforward. Early in his career, the Englishman was dogged by serious doubts.

Speaking to France Football, a co-organiser of the Ballon d'Or vote, the 33-year-old opened up about his difficult early days at Tottenham Hotspur. "I had doubts during my loan spells," Kane admitted. He had moved from Watford's youth ranks to Spurs in 2004 and broke into the first-team squad six years later, but the breakthrough he wanted did not come straight away. Spurs loaned the forward out several times over the next three years, to Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City.

Kane returned to north London in 2013. Tottenham considered another loan, but the striker turned it down, determined to establish himself this time. "I felt the time was right to take the next step," he recalled. He also knew what was at stake: "If I couldn't establish myself back then, I was afraid I'd keep being loaned out and eventually be sold."

When did Harry Kane make his debut for Tottenham Hotspur?

Under Tim Sherwood, who had taken charge at Tottenham in early 2014, Kane finally got his chance. He scored against AFC Sunderland in his first Premier League game under Sherwood. "I knew I had taken that opportunity," the England captain recalled. Kane went on to score 280 goals and provide a further 63 assists in 435 competitive appearances for Tottenham.

For all those goals, a trophy eluded him in London. His wait ended only after his move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, for which the Munich club paid around €95 million. Since then, Kane has won the German championship twice, the DFB Cup once and the Supercup twice with Bayern. He has now claimed his greatest individual honour to date with the Ballon d'Or. His outstanding 2025/26 season proved decisive: he scored 61 goals in competitive matches for the German record champions. On Monday, he was named the world's best footballer in London.

Kane made clear how much the honour means to him: "We live in a time when awards like this matter to people and influence how they perceive a player's quality. Nobody will ever be able to take this moment or this season away from me. I think titles like this earn you the respect of others and of the fans. That's certain."

After twelve competitive matches this season, Kane already has ten goals and seven assists. Saturday's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund (18.30) gives him his next chance to add to those totals.