By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Harry Kane ended his long wait for the first team trophy of his career as Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title – without playing – on Sunday.
This comes after title rivals Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, leaving the leaders with an unassailable lead with two games left to play.
Leverkusen needed to win on Sunday to maintain any mathematical chances of claiming the title after Bayern drew 3-3 at RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Sunday’s result left last season’s champions Leverkusen on 68 points, with Bayern on 76 and sealing their record-extending 33rd Bundesliga title since the introduction of the top league in 1963.
Kane has played a huge role in securing Bayern’s 34th league crown, topping the Bundesliga scoring charts with 24 goals, but in his 15th season as a pro – and two years after leaving boyhood club Tottenham – he has finally got his hands on silverware.
Kane, who has lost Champions League and Carabao Cup finals at club level and twice lost European finals with England, has broken goal-scoring records in Germany but now has the team title he has craved.
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, who won the Championship with Burnley in 2022/23, has claimed his first major honour as a manager, while Kane’s former England and Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier is also celebrating the first team trophy of his career.