England captain Harry Kane has completed his move from Tottenham to Bayern Munich.
Kane, who was out of contract next summer, leaves Tottenham having scored 280 goals to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, but without a trophy.
In a message to the Tottenham fans on Instagram, Kane said: “Hi everyone, I wanted to be the first to tell you Tottenham fans that I’ll be leaving the club today.
“Obviously a lot of emotions going through me right now and sad to be leaving the club I’ve spent nearly 20 years of my life at since I was an 11-year-old boy to a 30-year-old man now, there’s been so many great moments and special memories, memories that I will cherish forever.
“So this is a thank you to all my teammates over the years, all the coaches, managers, every single staff member to do with the club from the kit man to the chefs everyone involved.”
“Obviously I’ve built special relationships with a lot of people and most importantly a thank you to the Tottenham fans, from the moment I’ve been playing I’ve been one of your own and I’ve given everything that I possibly could to make you proud and give you as many special moments and memories to hopefully last forever.”
The deal for the England captain could rise to £120m, after a breakthrough was made in the negotiations between the clubs on Wednesday night.
It has been a saga that has dragged out throughout the summer, and Kane could even make his Bayern Munich debut when they play Leipzig in the German Super Cup on Saturday evening.
Kane continued: “So I felt like this was the time to leave, I didn’t want to go into the season with a lot of unresolved future talk, I think it was important for the new manager and the players to concentrate on trying to get Tottenham back to around the top of the table and fighting for trophies so I wish Ange and all the boys all the best of luck honestly.
“I’ll be watching from a fan point of view now and I hope the team can be successful.
“This is a message to all you fans around the world, every single Tottenham fan that’s supported me and been with me throughout my journey, me and my finally will cherish it forever and we will never forget all the moments we’ve had together.
“So thank you, I’ll be watching this season, good luck to Tottenham, good luck to the whole club so it’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.”
On his move to Bayern, Kane said: “I’m very happy to be a part of FC Bayern now.
“Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world, and I’ve always said that I want to compete and prove myself at the highest level during my career. This club is defined by its winning mentality – it feels very good to be here.”
New Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had revealed on Friday that Kane’s move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached.
It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy told the club’s website: “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.
“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.”
Includes reporting from PA
