Bayern Munich were denied passage to their first Champions League final since beating Paris Saint-Germain to lift the coveted trophy in 2019/20.
Ironically, their dream of playing in the showpiece in Budapest was derailed by reigning champions PSG, who finally had their vengeance for the 2020 heartbreak in a chaotic 6-5 aggregate victory.
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Harry Kane wasn’t part of that battle in Lisbon, which makes him collateral damage in this instance. But he has his own long and complicated relationship with football’s most coveted club trophy.
When the final whistle sounded at Parc des Princes, Kane stood motionless for a moment, staring into the distance as another golden opportunity slipped away.
The England captain scored in the second leg to secure a 1-1 draw, but it wasn’t enough, reopening a wound from another era of his career.
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Seven years ago, he walked off the pitch in Madrid distraught after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final.
Two clubs. Two different stages of his remarkable career. Yet the same crushing feeling of defeat.
The Tottenham dream
Kane’s Tottenham career was defined by his inability to lead the club to glory. He left the club as a legend, but also with a gnawing feeling of what if.
Tottenham’s 2019 run to the Champions League final was surreal. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t have the financial power of Europe’s elite, but he had Kane.
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Kane had scored five goals in nine Champions League games during Tottenham’s chaotic run to the final.
They got past Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the quarter-final before pulling off one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history against Ajax in the semi-final.
Despite his goal tally, Kane watched most of Tottenham’s miracle run from the sidelines due to injury.
He was desperate to return for the final and won his race against time. But forcing him onto the pitch ultimately cost Tottenham as he looked out of touch.
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Kane’s dream began to unravel almost immediately as Liverpool won a penalty inside two minutes before going on to secure a comprehensive 2-0 victory.
That night in Madrid felt like Tottenham’s peak, the closest Kane had come to touching immortality for the club he carried on his back for years.
Tottenham went into that final with the wind in their sails, but they were always viewed as the underdogs punching above their weight.
Kane’s move to Bayern changed that narrative, but it still wasn’t enough to change his story – at least not yet.
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A second shot at immortality with Bayern
Kane’s move to Bayern was a no-brainer. It was a necessary step in his relentless pursuit of legacy, going from an underdog hoping for a miracle to an environment where success is demanded.
As perennial Bundesliga winners, there was never any doubt that Kane would lift his first trophies in a Bayern shirt. He has now done so in back-to-back seasons, adding the DFB Pokal as the icing on the cake.
However, there was a different expectation at Bayern. They wanted to win the Champions League, so the move also promised Kane a shot at redemption.
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Not much changed on an individual level. Kane has continued to score at an extraordinary rate.
In his two years at Bayern, Kane has scored 140 goals in 144 games. He already has 55 this season and is on course to win the European Golden Boot.
Winning the Bundesliga in 2025 finally put the “trophyless” narrative to bed, allowing him to focus on his Champions League redemption.
Bayern were eliminated in the quarter-final in Kane’s debut season. But the Bavarians went into the 2025/26 campaign as heavy favourites to go all the way.
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First, it was Inter Milan who got in the way of Kane’s dream. This time, it was a PSG side equally desperate to cement their European legacy.
Another cruel ending to a relentless pursuit of legacy
Bayern and PSG delivered one of the greatest Champions League semi-final contests in the history of the competition. It had everything expected of two European heavyweights.
Goals, tactical battles, and moments of individual brilliance helped turn the tie into a spectacle.
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Both teams went for the jugular with some of the best attacking quality on the continent, but PSG prevailed over two enthralling legs of knockout football.
Kane was on target in both games, but his efforts weren’t enough.
The image of him breaking down after the final whistle was symbolic of his crumbling under the weight of his own legacy.
The cruel irony of Kane’s defeat is impossible to ignore. He left Tottenham to compete consistently for the biggest trophies football has to offer.
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Bayern gave him that platform, and in many ways, the move has worked a treat, with the England captain now a two-time league champion.
He remains one of the deadliest strikers of his generation. Yet he just cannot seem to clinch the one trophy that could truly define his legacy as one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Kane is approaching the twilight of his career. At 32, even the best players start to decline, so he’s running out of time to win the Champions League.
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Bayern will always be contenders, but that doesn’t guarantee a clear route to the final. That uncertainty is what gives this latest defeat such an emotional weight.
For Kane, the Champions League continues to be the dream that slips away. It remains to be seen if the gods of football will grant him yet another shot at immortality.
