Harry Kane was the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history – and one of the most controversial. Two years later, Jan-Christian Dreesen draws a clear balance.
When Harry Kane moved to FC Bayern in the summer of 2023, Munich paid over €100 million for a player for the first time. In an interview with kicker, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen looks back on the events of that time and talks about negotiations, fan euphoria and the sporting return.
„I will never forget the days and especially the nights in August 2023, the negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur were complicated. But Harry was always true to his word, he absolutely wanted to come to FC Bayern and he left no doubt about that,“ explained Dreesen. The signing of the England international had an unexpected knock-on effect.
„Thousands of people followed his flight to us on flight radar, and people waited at Säbener Straße until late into the night when he arrived. That was extraordinary and showed Harry’s charisma.“
Dreesen: „Every minute of negotiation was worth it“
Despite the enormous transfer fee, there were also critical voices from those around him, but Dreesen made it clear that the effort had more than paid off in retrospect: „Now, almost two and a half years and more than a hundred goals later, everyone knows that every minute of negotiation was worth it and that it was right to consistently go ‚all in‘. No striker in professional soccer today has cracked the 100-goal mark at a club faster, and never before has a Bundesliga debutant been top scorer twice in a row.“
With 115 goals and 19 assists in 121 competitive matches, Kane has set new sporting standards in a very short space of time.
But for Dreesen, Kane’s value goes beyond the numbers. The Bayern boss particularly praised his attitude and presence in the team: „Harry lives this job with maximum professionalism, he works hard for the team, runs every extra meter and takes responsibility – on the pitch and in the dressing room.“ Kane has also impressed on a personal level and fully identifies with the club: despite his „world star status“, he is approachable and shows „what it means to be part of this club“.
