Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has admitted he begrudgingly sold Harry Kane to Bayern Munich when it became clear the striker did not want to sign a new contract.
Kane completed his €100m (£86.4m) transfer to Bayern on Saturday, bringing an end to a lengthy transfer saga which saw Levy reject three bids from the German side as he fought to convince the England captain to stay.
But with Kane in the final year of his deal, and able to speak to clubs abroad about moving on a free transfer in January, Levy and Spurs' hierarchy eventually decided to cash in on their homegrown gem.
After Kane's emotional goodbye message to the club's supporters, Levy has gone on record to confirm that attempted to tie the club's all-time record goalscorer down with several different contract offers, but realised there was nothing he could do to keep him at the club.
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"We sought over a long period of time to engage Harry and his representatives in several forms of contract extension, both short and long term," Levy said in a statement. "Harry was clear, however, that he wanted a fresh challenge and would not be signing a new contract this summer. We have reluctantly, therefore, agreed to his transfer.
"We have seen a product of our Academy system become one of the best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt and become one of world football’s elite strikers. It has been a truly remarkable journey.
"Harry’s achievements and records say everything about the player, and throughout his 19 years at the Club, Harry has been a model professional, on and off the pitch and an inspiration for young players who dream of following in his footsteps.
"I should like to thank Harry for everything he's done for us, all the memories, all the records - we wish him and his family all the best for the future. It goes without saying, he's always welcome back. He’s a much loved and valued member of the Spurs family, forever in our history."
Spurs have been preparing all summer long for the potential departure of Kane - something manager Ange Postecoglou, who is heading into his first Premier League campaign in charge, alluded to in his pre-match press conference before the clash with Brentford on Sunday.
"I don't think there's a like for like replacement for Harry. We've been planning for this for a while to be fair," the Australian told the media. " It doesn't take too much investigative work to know that this was going to happen. Our business up to now reflects that.
"I don't think it works that way [giving Daniel Levy a list of strikers to get]. It's not like the family shopping list to go and get milk and bread for the kids. My whole strategy has been that Harry was unlikely to be around so it wasn't like we had a pow wow this morning."
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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth, Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss the ever-changing Moises Caicedo saga, Harry Kane's move to Bayern Munich and more!
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This article was originally published on 90min as Daniel Levy explains decision to sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.