Tom Clark: Cheap laughs at Harry Kane's expense do a disservice to one of the world's greats

The slumped, exhausted figure of Harry Kane, head bowed resting on the seat in front of him, was a powerful image upon the final whistle in Madrid on Wednesday. It was not the first time Kane has been seen dejected at the end of a crucial match despite his incredible individual career.

His move to Bayern Munich was not about money, fame, or building a brand but about winning trophies and in the German giants he seemed to have the perfect fit, alas not, for the first time in 12 years, Bayern have gone a season without silverware. 

Kane is a remarkable footballer and does not deserve the ridicule that so often comes his way. He is England’s and Tottenham’s highest-ever goalscorer and until his transfer was well on his way to breaking the Premier League record. He has overcome many challenges as a young player to rise to the top of the world game and should be celebrated for his achievements.

Instead, we are in the ‘banter era’ of football fandom and Kane’s lack of silverware is used to beat him with the mantra of being a failure. 

Kane’s record shows he is not the issue, far from it. It is not his fault that right when Spurs were primed under Mauricio Pochettino to push on and become regular challengers the club were hampered by stadium costs and unable to fund transfer activity. His 44 goals in 45 games for Bayern is an astounding record but his wonder campaign has coincided with what could become one of the all-time great seasons if Bayer Leverkusen avoid defeat in their final four matches and pick up an invincible treble of trophies. Again hardly Kane’s fault.

The striker is only 30 and Bayern rarely go a season without a trophy so there is a high chance the England skipper will leave Germany with a hatful of winner’s medals over the next few seasons.

Even so, Kane deserves more respect than he is currently given. He has a fantastic record for Tottenham and England and will retire well clear as top goalscorer for his boyhood club and country. A fabulous achievement far greater than numerous players who might have the odd medal in their cabinet.

The irony is most who laugh at Kane’s lack of silverware will be gutted if this barren spell continues through the summer. If England are to win Euro 2024, Kane will be key and possibly move to the top of the market to win the Ballon d'Or, where he is already third in the betting, with potentially only Jude Bellingham for company.

Maybe it is time to stop mocking and bringing down England's top talents and this goes for the mainstream media as much as anyone else. 

The number of posts on social media mere moments after Wednesday’s defeat with comments such as ‘Harry Kane goes another season without lifting a trophy . . .’ was ridiculous. That specific TNT Sports post was all lined up and ready to go the second the final whistle went before even mentioning Real Madrid’s victory. 

TNT were not alone in this, the go-to narrative was Kane’s failure rather than Real’s remarkable comeback or Bellingham’s success. 

Banter clearly drives clicks more than praise. How sad.

For Arsenal or Chelsea fans, the portrait of Kane as a failure is somewhat understandable - that is how football tribalism works, but what does the rest of the English game have against him? 

Maybe I get too many of my football takes from social media and it is only there that the narrative of Kane as a flop prevaricates. I for one, hope that ends this summer with triumph at the Euros and a trophy-laden final few years of his career, but if not, his legacy will not be defined by medals but by his undeniable individual brilliance.

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