Harry Kane still learning German at Bayern Munich

Harry Kane has been at Bayern Munich for three seasons.

He has scored 156 goals in 161 appearances.

He has won two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup, and the Ballon d'Or.

He just signed a contract extension that keeps him at the club through 2029.

And he still cannot speak German fluently.

The England captain admitted as much in a recent interview, acknowledging that his progress with the language has been slower than he hoped.

"Oh, I knew this was coming," Kane said with a laugh when asked about his German skills, as captured by X account @iMiaSanMia.

"Hopefully I'll learn more within the next three years than I have in the first three."

Bayern Munich requires all foreign players to take German language courses as part of their integration into the club.

Kane is no exception.

He has been working with a language teacher named Max throughout his time in Munich.

"I've been discussing with Max, the language teacher here, about doing some more stuff," Kane said.

"Obviously, it's more just about confidence now to talk it out."

The striker said his comprehension has improved, even if his speaking has not kept pace.

"I understand a bit more than before, and I am still learning," he explained.

But the next step, he acknowledged, requires a leap of faith.

"I think for me now it's just to take the step to start talking more, make mistakes while talking, and not be worried about the reaction," Kane said.

He set a specific goal for himself: to conduct at least one interview in German.

"I know I keep saying it, but hopefully there will be a time where I can at least do an interview or two where I talk some German," he said.

"I know the fans would love it, everyone in the club would love it."

Kane signed for Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023 in a deal worth £82 million.

He had scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham across all competitions before the move.

At Bayern, he has continued that prolific form, netting 156 goals in 161 games.

In September, he became the fastest player in Bundesliga history to reach 100 league goals, doing so in just 98 matches.

That broke the previous record set by Dieter Mueller in 1977 by 31 games.

Last month, Kane won the Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Englishman to claim the award since Michael Owen in 2001 and the first Bayern player to win it since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.

He beat France captain Kylian Mbappe into second place in what was described as the closest finish in the award's history.

On Thursday, Kane signed a contract extension with Bayern that runs through June 2029.

"We signed the contract yesterday, but to be honest the decision was made quite a long time ago," Kane said after the announcement.

"I knew I was going to sign, it was just a matter of some of the details and the behind-the-scenes stuff."

Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen confirmed the club had "stretched our limits" with the new deal.

"It's a major contract for a major player," Dreesen said.

"And a fair one. Harry has given us an incredible amount of joy. He has shown he is worth every cent."

Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said the club were "absolutely delighted" to extend Kane's contract.

"With Harry Kane we have the Ballon d'Or winner on the pitch — a team player, a leader, the best all-round striker in the world," Freund said.

Kane said he felt "right at home" at Bayern.

"I love the club, the fans and the city of Munich," he said.

"We have a fantastic team and, in Vincent Kompany, a fantastic manager. It makes me very proud to be part of this club."

"My whole family is very happy here," he added.

"I was keen to stay. I'm now looking forward to the future and I want to win many more titles with this great club."

Despite his individual success, the Champions League has remained out of reach.

Bayern have reached the semi-finals twice in Kane's three seasons but have not won the competition.

Kane said after signing the extension that winning the Champions League remains his primary aim.

Before joining Bayern, Kane spent more than a decade at boyhood club Tottenham without winning a single team trophy.

Since moving to Germany, he has won two Bundesliga titles and one German Cup.

The language question, though lighthearted, has become a recurring topic in Kane's media appearances in Germany.