Manchester City were dealt a double blow on Wednesday when manager Pep Guardiola announced his intention to leave the club in 2023 and Tottenham striker Harry Kane confirmed his commitment to the London club.
The possibility of Kane joining City was put to rest on Wednesday when the England captain announced on Twitter that he would be staying at the club where he has spent the majority of his career.
“It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” Kane wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. “I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success.”
Kane, whose Spurs contract runs until 2024, had previously stated that he wanted to leave this summer and believed he had a gentleman’s agreement in place with chairman Daniel Levy to do so.
Levy, on the other hand, refused to budge on the reported asking price of $200 million. Manchester City, who had already paid £100 million for Jack Grealish, appeared unwilling to pay another £100 million.
Kane missed the first two games of the season after failing to show up for scheduled training and coronavirus tests, before making his first appearance on Sunday, coming on as a substitute in Spurs’ 1-0 Premier League win over Wolves.
Guardiola, meanwhile, has stated that he intends to leave the club when his current contract expires in 2023.
After seven years at the helm, the Spaniard, who joined the club in 2016, believes he will need a break.
“I think I’m going to take a break after seven years with this team,” Guardiola said at an online event hosted by Brazilian financial services firm XP Investimentos, as quoted by ESPN Brasil.
“I will have a break, see what we’ve done. And in the process, I would like to train a national team, South American, European … Playing a Copa América — I want to have that experience.”
During his time in Manchester, the 50-year-old has won three Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and four League Cups.
Following his departure from Barcelona in 2012 after four trophy-laden years at the Camp Nou, Guardiola took a year off before joining Bayern Munich in 2013.
