Barcelona Already Made Quiet Contact With Harry Kane. Here’s What Happened Next.

Barcelona reached out to Harry Kane’s camp before this summer’s World Cup even kicked off, according to a report from the Daily Mail. The Catalan side wanted to know if the England captain might be available after the tournament ends.

Here’s the thing. Kane has one year left on his Bayern Munich contract once the World Cup wraps up. That’s the kind of ticking clock that usually gets a club like Barcelona sniffing around. They need a new No. 9 after Robert Lewandowski left. And Kane, at 32, just put up 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern last season. So you can see the logic.

But the initial call got shut down pretty quickly. Kane’s representatives told Barcelona this wasn’t the time. Their guy is fully locked in on England’s World Cup run. Thomas Tuchel’s side faces DR Congo in the round of 32 on Wednesday, and Kane already has three goals in the tournament. He’s also England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer now with 11 goals total.

Bayern’s stance is clear

Bayern Munich sees Kane as the foundation of their entire project. They watched him transform their attack last season. The guy scored 70 goals combined for club and country this season. Only Lionel Messi’s 2011-12 campaign produced more goals among players in Europe’s top five leagues this century. That’s the level we’re talking about.

So Bayern has zero interest in selling. They want to sign Kane to a new contract after the World Cup, not trade him. And his camp is reportedly more interested in those extension talks than in Barcelona’s overtures anyway.

Kane is happy in Bavaria. Really happy. That matters.

Barcelona’s problem

Even if Barcelona circles back with more serious money next summer, prying Kane out of Munich will be hell. Bayern dug in harder than anyone expected when Atletico Madrid tried to keep Julian Alvarez. Kane is a much bigger piece of their puzzle.

The German champions don’t negotiate on players they consider untouchable. And Kane, at this point, is untouchable. He’s scored 11 World Cup goals, the most by any English player in tournament history. He’s the guy who carried Bayern through last season. They’re not letting him walk because Barcelona needs a striker.

Barcelona can ask. They already did. But convincing Bayern to sell Harry Kane might be the hardest deal they’ll ever try to make.