Gary Neville has backed Harry Kane to return to the Premier League and break the division’s all-time goal record.
Kane left the Premier League in 2023 to sign for Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur, where he has since scored 146 goals in 147 games for the German giants.
The 32-year-old has won back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Bayern over the last two seasons, securing the major silverware that had eluded him at Spurs.
Kane is the second-highest goalscorer in Premier League history, and sits 42 goals behind Alan Shearer’s landmark. Neville believes the England captain will be determined to return and break that record before his career concludes.
“He will become England’s greatest-ever goalscorer, the Premier League’s greatest-ever goalscorer. He’s a really serious guy, Harry, I thought when we worked with him with England. If he said something with the players, it would stick, with thought and intelligence, but seriousness,” he told Rio Ferdinand presents.
“You never thought you would see someone as prolific as Alan Shearer, but I think if he comes back to the Premier League in the next year or so, I think he’ll come in and finish off Alan’s record. I’ll be amazed if he’s not playing until he’s 38 somewhere, getting that record.”
Neville also criticised his former team, Manchester United, for allowing Kane to join Bayern Munich. He said the Red Devils would ‘never have allowed’ Kane to move elsewhere under Sir Alex Ferguson.
“When Manchester United signed Bryan Robson, Ron Atkinson said something along the lines of ‘this is no risk, this is gold – I think Harry Kane would have been that for United, that would have been gold. You [Ferdinand] joining from Leeds, Wazza [Rooney] joining from Everton, Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest – those are all ‘gold’.
“If Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge of Man United he would never have allowed Harry Kane to be anywhere else, he would have made sure he came to Old Trafford.
“Declan Rice would have been the same. Sir Alex would have been all over those two.”
