Harry Kane could be forced to watch from the sidelines as Bayern Munich attempt to seal the Bundesliga title this weekend, with the England captain suspended for Saturday’s crucial fixture away to RB Leipzig.
Victory for Bayern would see them reclaim the title from Bayer Leverkusen and finally earn Kane the first major trophy of his senior career. However, the 31-year-old will miss the encounter after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in last weekend’s 3-0 win over Mainz – triggering an automatic one-match suspension under Bundesliga rules.
While the Premier League also implements a similar system, its threshold is more lenient, with a ban only kicking in after ten bookings during the latter half of the season.
Kane labelled the yellow card shown against Mainz as a “crazy, crazy decision”, but remained upbeat about Bayern’s title hopes and his role in their campaign.
“It’s kind of my story that I’ll miss the Leipzig game,” Kane said. “But no worries, I’ll celebrate more than anyone else.”
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany backed Kane’s contribution and insisted his absence would not diminish the striker’s impact this season.
“Every title you have to celebrate like it’s your first, so I don’t think it will make much of a difference for Harry,” Kompany said. “It doesn’t take away a single per cent of his contribution.”
Kane has endured a string of near-misses throughout his career, including painful defeats in the 2019 Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur, as well as in back-to-back European Championship finals with England in 2021 and 2024.
Since arriving in Munich in the summer of 2023, Kane has enjoyed a prolific run of form. Despite Bayern missing out on the title last season – their first trophyless campaign in 11 years – the striker’s goals have driven this year’s revival. Kane has scored 24 times in 29 league appearances this term, making him the firm favourite to claim a second successive Bundesliga Golden Boot.
He also made history in November, becoming the fastest player ever to reach 50 Bundesliga goals – doing so in just 43 matches.
While he won’t be on the pitch for the decisive moment, Saturday could still bring a long-overdue title celebration for Kane – and a moment to finally end his much-discussed trophy drought.