While Tottenham Hotspur fans are celebrating one of their own being crowned the best player in the world, their dream of Harry Kane returning to Spurs may soon be about to receive a massive blow.

The affection that everyone associated with Tottenham has for Harry Kane has become evident from the Ballon d’Or reactions over the past 24 hours.

A whole host of past and current Spurs players have spoken glowingly of Kane after his Ballon d’Or win, showing the sort of legacy that the striker left at the club where he broke numerous records.

Kane gave Spurs a special shoutout in his acceptance speech, admitting the Lilywhites were an important part of his journey, but the dream of the striker returning to N17 may be slipping away.

He said: “First of all, I am almost speechless. Lucky I have this list. It being in London is extra special and felt like a good omen. Thanks to those who voted for me, as it would have been tough this year. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners tonight.

“Thanks to my teammates who are here tonight. It is an honour to play for Bayern Munich and represent you. I want to say thank you to Tottenham Hotspur as well. I would not be where I am today without Tottenham. You allowed me to live my dream.

“I want to give a shout-out to some of my coaches down the years. You all played important roles at different stages of my career. When you surround yourself with the best people, you become a better person and player.

“Thank you to my brother Charlie and my mum and dad for all the time and sacrifices you have made for me. To my kids, you are the reason I do this. I cannot wait to see you, and I want to set a good example for you. I love you very much. To my wife Katie, my best friend, we have been through ups and downs. You are my biggest supporter. You always want the best for me and sacrifice yourself to help me achieve my dreams.”

Harry Kane’s 2025/26 season by numbers

Bayern Munich are working to remove Tottenham’s right-to-match clause for Harry Kane

Even during the recent summer window, it was reported that Tottenham were keeping themselves informed of Kane’s situation, as they dreamed of bringing their academy graduate back home.

Spurs have a right-to-match clause for the England captain, which gives them a chance to match any future bid accepted by Bayern for the striker.

It has been widely reported over recent weeks that Bayern are edging closer to tying up Kane to a new contract, and Fabrizio Romano has now provided some bad news to the North London club.

Fabrizio Romano said on his YouTube channel: “It’s about the length of the contract, how many years, how to sort that clause Harry Kane had in his contract for a Premier League return, for Tottenham matching rights. I think it’s happening. It’s very close.”

The Standard believe that this means the Bavarian club are working to remove Tottenham’s matching rights clause as part of his new deal at the Allianz Arena.

What Kane said about possible Premier League return during Ballon d’Or ceremony

Spurs’ chances of re-signing the striker received a further blow during the Ballon d’Or ceremony when the striker was asked about returning to England.

Kane made it clear that his current focus lies solely on helping Bayern Munich win the Champions League and on winning a major tournament with England.

When asked if he wants to return to the Premier League and break Alan Shearer’s record, the former Spurs man said (via Goal.com): “Not at the moment, not right now. I’m loving life in Munich.

“Bayern are such a great club. We have an amazing team, a great coach. So yeah, right now that’s where my focus is, and I’m extremely happy, and to be winning awards like this just shows why I made the move in the first place.

“There’s always ambition, there’s always dreams for new achievements, new things. I still have a lot to achieve in this game – the Champions League, from club level, and to win a major trophy with England, it’s my number one priority for sure.”